blossoming
by Moon Prynces
Summary: AU Even as class president, soon-to-be valedictorian and all around do-gooder...there are still things Blossom comes to learn just a few months before graduation. One teenage party after another, the influence of her peers, and mocking/scolding looks from her longtime rival has her making up for seemingly lost experiences.
1. seed

10-12-12

8:48pm

Summary–Even as class president, soon-to-be valedictorian and all around do-gooder...there are still things Blossom comes to learn just a few months before graduation. One teenage party after another, the influence of her peers, and mocking/scolding looks from her longtime rival has her making up for seemingly lost experiences.

**Disclaimer**–**I do not own The Powerpuff Girls, which is copyright and belongs to its respective owner(s) and is only being used in a fan-made, fictional story.**

**Warning/Disclaimer:** **1-**These kids are in high school and doing illegal things like underage drinking. Don't think that means I'm encouraging any of you to do anything illegal, or that I approve of you doing anything illegal. **2-**Some of the songs I used for inspiration and mention as choices for you to queue up contain explicit lyrics. There's no way around it. I'm not writing PG rated fluff here. So if you can't handle the songs then don't listen to those specific ones – which I will inform you of beforehand.

**xoxo**

**Title**–**blossoming**

**Party 1**–**seed**

**By**–**Moon Prynces**

**xoxo**

She wasn't nervous. No need to be.

Sure, it was her first time and all she could go on were rumors and stories from peers, and scenes from movies and TV shows but–

Someone bumped into her shoulder when she was only five steps through the front door and she nearly dove into the nearby end table.

She caught herself and glanced around to see if anyone noticed before reaching up with one hand to self-consciously smooth back her ponytail.

Maybe she should have called up a friend and gotten a ride so she wouldn't be walking into her first teenage, high school party by herself, looking pitiful and lost.

Blossom stood up straight, moved closer to a wall, and looked around.

It was only a little after nine o'clock on this slightly chilly Saturday evening, but the house was decently crowded with people – half of whom she didn't even recognize. They were mingling easily with each other though, holding beer bottles and large plastic cups with questionable contents. There was a set of big speakers positioned around the living room where someone was DJing to a makeshift dancefloor of girls in tiny skirts and guys waving their half empty cups around.

She sighed and went wandering through the place at her leisure.

Heads turned as she passed by.

Though the music was focused toward the front of the house, it was loud enough to filter through the other rooms. Which was something considering it was a pretty big place. Whose house was this again?

She didn't know. All she remembered was the address that had been thrown around during lunch yesterday. It made everyone who got wind of the party tremble with excitement and anticipation. All except her, who didn't really care about these things.

If anyone noticed her lack of interest, it didn't surprise them. After three and a half years of being a goody two-shoes; smarty-pants; and always putting academics, extra-curriculars and volunteer work first...no one ever expected her to start showing up for this mindless debauchery just three months before graduation.

But there was nothing to do now that it was basically over. Schoolwork was laughable, everyone was cutting class all the time, and she'd already gotten into a bunch of universities and taken her pick.

So, with all this free time she was a little curious to see what the big deal was. What kind of fun was this that made people regret and yet go back again and again?

As she observed the surroundings like one did with the liquids in chem class, she noted the atmosphere was very mellow with people doing what they normally did at school. Most were standing around talking while taking sips of whatever it was they were drinking; a large group was throwing themselves around on the dancefloor; and there were pairs hidden throughout the rooms in corners, on sofas and against walls just making out at their own pace.

Okay, maybe it wasn't really the same as school. It was...

_...the alcohol,_ she realized with a blink. _They all look so happy and...free._

Or at least stress-free.

No one was worrying about tests and homework. No one was being bullied or complaining about their families. Everyone was strangely sedated, willing to do things they normally wouldn't even consider.

That had to be why she saw mainly couples treading up the stairs to dimly lit hallways...

And then she finally spotted a friend.

"Hey!" she said happily while hopping over.

The group looked up at her entrance, a few people just giving a glance before going back to their conversation.

"Blossom?" Amy questioned, holding one of those cups and looking a little unsteady.

"Why didn't you tell us you were coming?" Mel joined in.

She just waved off their concern. "It was a last minute decision."

The two glanced at each other, most likely agreeing – but with a certain insinuation that might have her feeling insulted. So she looked around in time to see a guy she didn't even know the name of stumbling his way over.

Of course, even with her being as smart as she was, she didn't realize yet that he was probably drunk out of his mind.

"Wow, you made it!" he said upon reaching her, as if this were his party and he had personally invited her.

"Uh, yeah. I did," she said, glancing around to see her friends shake their heads with grins.

"No one thought you would make it out tonight," he slurred, putting a hand on the nearby wall as support.

Someone chuckled. "He has a point. Isn't it past your bedtime or something?"

It just had to be him, didn't it? But she pushed aside any further thoughts on their acquaintance.

Blossom turned her offended face toward the newcomer. "What's that supposed to mean?"

A few of their peers, all people she knew and had had class with at some point, turned to see the confrontation.

Brick grinned. "I mean, this isn't exactly your scene. Did you lose a bet or something?"

Technically, he hit the nail on the head. It was what everyone was thinking, but didn't want to say out loud. But of course he did so without blinking, opening the floodgates.

A girl behind her agreed. "Sorry Blossom, I gotta say I'm surprised too."

Which then started on most people within earshot agreeing as well.

Brick just shook his head, still grinning, and then tilted it back to swallow whatever was left in his cup before turning around and leaving the scene. People were still looking on in mild interest as Blossom turned back to her friends and the few people they were chatting with.

"Whatever," she muttered while tuning into the conversation.

"I hate to say it, Blos," Amy spoke up, causing the redhead to shoot her a glare which obviously said, 'Then _don't_ say it'. She (of course) ignored the warning. "But why _are_ you here? You don't drink, you don't dance and you usually prefer socializing with people at school functions."

Mel raised her brows with a face that said, 'Quick! Add something!'

"No offense," the other girl said, glancing back to Blossom after catching the look. "This isn't your kind of fun."

_My kind of fun?_ she wondered, wide-eyed and stunned, feeling like she'd been slapped in the face.

Was that what everyone was thinking? That she couldn't have fun the same way they did?

Just because she hadn't ever tried didn't mean she should be shunned from all these experiences. Would it always be like this wherever she went? Did being an overachiever close doors to so many social activities?

_That can't be right,_ she thought, a little disturbed.

Blossom stuck around with the group for another half hour, not making much conversation and trying not to feel bitter at the assumptions made about her character.

She was only curious to see what happened at these things – was trying to find a way to pass time between now and when she set off to college. She knew she was completely inexperienced when it came to normal social activities that everyone else enjoyed. She liked reading and hanging out with a small group of friends at someone's house, but that didn't mean she didn't– _couldn't_ like drinking and dancing and partying. She wouldn't know until she tried, right?

She was still thinking this while heading home before it even turned eleven.

**xoxo**

10:42pm

11-20-12

4:49pm

**(PLEASE READ ME)** I know I haven't put up anything in a while and even in the past year things have been sparse. This story is something I've worked on for quite a while (much longer than a year) but we'll get to that later. Instead of bogging down the end of _each_ chapter with long End Notes I'm going to include a lot of my thoughts and feelings on this story at the very end, in its own chapter – much like there is a director's notes/commentary in movie DVDs.

There will be about ten chapters total, though I only have the first seven completely written and edited. I didn't want to upload until I had the entire thing finished, just for continuity purposes, but I've given in. This will take five weeks to two months to post, but I'm still unsure how often each chapter will come out. It could be between every 2 days to about once a week (or according to the actual story timeline, which you'll understand as it comes out). **It'll also depend on the response I get from you guys, so be sure to tell me how you feel about what's going on.**

...

**My biggest recommendation to you all is, if you have the opportunity, to read this (and any story) out loud. **It's one of the more wonderful, awesome, exciting things you can do when reading anything, but especially fiction. Alter your voice just slightly when reading a conversation so that you can understand the characters and their tone. Try to read passages the way they're written – whether it's the rambling, I-have-no-idea-what-I'm-doing style or a more aggressive, this-is-who-I-am approach that tells you about the point of view you're reading. Read it with all those meaningful and purposeful punctuations and dramatic pauses. Get into it. Read like you're reading it to someone else – like when people read books to children at the library or book stores.

Reading out loud is my favorite way to read fiction, when I've got the opportunity. It's also how I reread my own stories when editing, or even after having posted them to whatever site. Sometimes I get so caught up I forget that I wrote the thing.

So seriously, I feel like this is one of those stories that you should read out loud and immerse yourself in and get so lost that you're suddenly at the edge of your seat, gasping along with it and making facial expressions and hand motions that correspond with what's going on in the story. (Or maybe those are just the actions of the more eccentric like myself?)

**I love writing, but even more I love reading. And hopefully you do too, and that's why you're here. So let's see how this plays out.**

9-8-13

8:15pm


	2. water

10-13-12

12:19am

Summary–Even as class president, soon-to-be valedictorian and all around do-gooder...there are still things Blossom comes to learn just a few months before graduation. One teenage party after another, the influence of her peers, and mocking/scolding looks from her longtime rival has her making up for seemingly lost experiences.

**Disclaimer**–**I do not own The Powerpuff Girls, which is copyright and belongs to its respective owner(s) and is only being used in a fan-made, fictional story.**

**Warning/Disclaimer:** **1-**These kids are in high school and doing illegal things like underage drinking. Don't think that means I'm encouraging any of you to do anything illegal, or that I approve of you doing anything illegal. **2-**Some of the songs I used for inspiration and mention as choices for you to queue up contain explicit lyrics. There's no way around it. I'm not writing PG rated fluff here. So if you can't handle the songs then don't listen to those specific ones – which I will inform you of beforehand.

**xoxo**

**Title**–**blossoming**

**Party 2–water**

**By**–**Moon Prynces**

**xoxo**

She tried not to sulk for the few days after that first party. No one really said anything to her about it either.

It was apparently just an accepted fact that _Blossom _did not attend or enjoy parties. Her leaving so early just reaffirmed everyone's belief.

But it was a new weekend and there was another party – at a different house in a different neighborhood – that everyone would be going to.

Or so her peers said in their overly-excited indoor voices.

This time she picked up on a conversation inside the little girl's room between some underclassmen who had probably been to more of these things in their short lives than she could even fathom.

Unlike last time (the first time), Blossom strolled into this stranger's house alone and without any thoughts of wanting company.

Tch, like she was gonna call up anyone to give her a ride. It was actually just a quick (determined) ten minute walk to the destination.

She didn't awkwardly bump into anyone, and she didn't wander around like a lost puppy. She glanced around casually like she wasn't a total novice, and spotted the dining room table in all its glory.

_It's just alcohol,_ she thought, trying to control the unintentional nervous shaking while stalking closer.

But then she came upon the table and lost all confidence.

_What is all this? Why are there so many different...types? What do I choose?_

Though overwhelmed, she took initiative by grabbing a clear bottle with a red label to examine. What did triple distilled mean? Was that better or worse than some of the other things there? She didn't even know the different kinds of alcohol there were, nevermind the many drinks that could be created with them.

This entire..._subject_ could just be a class the same as chemistry or algebra with all there was to learn about it. And if there was one thing Blossom was good at...it was learning.

This might have been where her confidence came from: that she could pick up things easily and most information stayed with her, especially if used/practiced/reviewed so often in everyday life.

She looked back to the rest of the bottles, most of them no longer completely filled. The one she was holding was practically empty, probably enough for two more cups.

Then she had a flashback to health class, various commercials and advertisements, as well as verbal warnings from people who cared about her.

_Maybe I shouldn't drink from something that's already been opened..._

"Need help?"

Her brows furrowed but she didn't look at him. Instead she reached further back onto the table for a perfectly sealed bottle of beer. She could feel him standing there as she picked up one of the bottle openers lying around, and then proceeded to pop off the cap like a pro.

Blossom turned around to barely lean back against the table while bringing the beverage to her lips. "No," she responded shortly before taking a gulp.

Brick grinned at her, mirroring her stance. "What brings you to this neck of the woods? Where are your friends?" He made a show of glancing over her head.

"I'm just trying to enjoy myself," she said, frowning deeply at him.

Except that her expression was mainly because of the disgusting taste in her mouth. She was glad to have not spit it out in his face – because although it would ruin his appearance for a short while, it would really just ruin any credibility she was trying to create.

So she kept in her thoughts about how this was the grossest thing she'd ever forced herself to ingest and it was way too carbonated like soda and why in the hell would anyone willingly drink this stuff?

"But I guess that's ruined now," she added after a moment, referring to his presence.

He was still grinning like he'd won something, but thankfully he was gazing at the crowds of people like she was. "Hey, it just looked like someone was a little lonely, that's all."

"I am not lonely!" she hissed. "And even if I was, I would rather talk to my hand than you."

Brick shrugged uncaringly and walked away without another word. But just from watching his back she could tell he was feeling smug. Then she realized he probably _wanted _her to be watching him walk away, and so averted her eyes to the front of the house where more people were coming in.

It wasn't like she hated him. But they weren't friends either. It was more like...a rivalry.

She aced midterms freshman year, he made sure to be better in finals. He presented a well-organized slideshow for a project; she built a detailed, realistic model for hers. She played volleyball, he went for swimming. He suggested the idea of a dance to raise money for a school trip, she organized and put together said dance.

It was an endless list. Everyone thought there would be a serious struggle for valedictorian, but Brick got hit with senioritis and started slacking off before winter break came around, never to recover.

He didn't seem to care anymore about competing with her.

_So this is what he spends his time doing now,_ she thought while taking another agonizing sip. He was definitely at home in– in whoever's house.

She sighed and looked at the bottle she held. It wasn't as bad as she thought it'd be (well, from what she'd heard and seen on TV anyway).

_I wonder how many of these it takes to get drunk._

Not that she was going to get drunk. Not that she wanted to.

Right?

Then again...wasn't drinking the thing that freed her peers from whatever inhibitions and reservations they had? From what she'd witnessed so far, it made most of them seem happy for that brief period of time. Was this why they complained every Monday but always went back at every opportunity?

Was it better to be drunk and uninhibited, willing to say or do anything without the fear of rejection or humiliation? What kinds of things would she be willing to say or do (or even realize and acknowledge) if she were under the influence?

**xoxo**

It wasn't easy, but she had managed to get through the first bottle while blending into a group discussing prom and graduation. Some of the kids were from another high school and so they were throwing comparisons around like it mattered.

"Wait, how much was the budget, did you say Blos?" someone turned to her.

She looked forlornly at her empty beer bottle while trying to recall the figures. Why did they have to bring up work?

Well, work for her anyway. She was on student government and had to deal with all that crap.

How'd she get roped into something so close to her normal routine that it was like she was still in school at this very moment? Shouldn't parties be more exciting and crazy and wild? Shouldn't she have been doing something out of control?

It made her impatient for something to happen. She was restless and tired and _bored._

"Ah, I don't really remember." At the strange look she got, she had to continue with, "The numbers changed around so much, you know..."

"All those extra bake sales, eh?" a guy from the other school joked.

She smiled weakly and waited for everyone to forget about her presence before sneaking off to get another beer.

She hadn't pegged herself to be one with decent tolerance, but she hadn't really felt anything yet and so she might as well figure out her limits sooner rather than later. And honestly, they didn't taste that bad after a while. Kind of.

Blossom blinked slowly and stopped walking altogether – partly because the crowds were dense and no one seemed to want to clear a path for her.

Then...

_Am I drunk?_ she wondered, eyes squinting in skeptical thought and looking around. It didn't seem like it but... _Isn't that what drunk people usually say?_

Someone knocked into her from behind, jolting her from the stupid thoughts and making her look up at the grinning face of a guy from some team or other – she really couldn't remember.

"Oh, hey, sorry about that," he told her, his hand still on her upper arm from trying to catch her.

Whether he recognized her or not, he didn't say anything.

"But seeing as I have your attention, wanna dance?" And he motioned to the other room where they could clearly see people rubbing up against each other intimately in ways that made her possibly-sober mind go, _No way in hell._

Instead, she smiled apologetically and said, "Actually, I'm gonna get another drink."

"I'll join you," he went, letting go and following her to the dining room table where she ditched the empty bottle to pop open another one.

_What the hell does he want?_ she thought while taking a long gulp, only cringing minimally when he wasn't looking.

"I'm Gary. From the soccer team," he introduced himself, watching her with an easy smile that one might call cute.

"Blossom," she told him. And maybe it was the alcohol talking, but she added, "All around do-gooder."

When he looked surprised for a moment she wanted to take it back. But then he let out a laugh and was back to smiling at her.

"You know, I've never seen you around here before. And I'm kind of addicted to parties. It's like a hobby," he shrugged.

"Uh huh." She paused before taking another sip to say, "Well, maybe you haven't been looking properly."

There was some unmistakable twinkle in his eyes at her tone and mocking grin. But it took a moment to place it, and this whole situation.

She turned to stare around at people and furniture and anything so he wouldn't see her eyes popping out of her skull when the thought hit her.

_Wait, is he flirting with me? What did I just start?_

It was then that she remembered that not only did she have no experience in partying or drinking prior to this night, but also had no idea how to deal with guys and..._relationships _and all that stuff.

_Oh my god,_ she thought while taking another long gulp of beer. _Okay, it's fine. Just go with it. It's not that hard._

Blossom grinned to herself, suddenly knowing exactly how to do this. It was just like negotiating with the faculty and students. It was about timing and manipulation...except there was more playful teasing to it.

Something like that, right?

So she waited.

When the silence was long enough to become uncomfortable, she turned to him casually.

"So," she started, and found that he jumped at the sound of her voice. "What do you do at parties that makes it such a hobby?" she questioned with lifted brow.

He tried to shrug himself back into his previous confidence. "Meeting up with friends from other schools, hanging out...ya know," he nodded at her.

She blanked for a moment – obviously having _no idea_ – and so brought the bottle to her lips, looking at him with a cool gaze.

When the action was over she came up with, "I guess it's easier to have a good time when you don't have to pay for anything." This was followed by a wry, knowing smile.

He looked shocked at such an astute insinuation, and then laughed it off. "I never thought about it, but that does sound good. Then again, these things aren't known for their amazing appetizers and dinner course."

"Still," she continued, "Drinks aren't free anywhere else."

"Neither is admission," he added.

Which caused Blossom to wonder for a moment what he meant. But then it hit her that he meant actual clubs – clubs that required you to be legal with an ID as proof to get into.

She kept her eyes downcast at the revelation (which now seemed so obvious) that people her age even got themselves into more...reckless situations. She never thought beyond silly high school parties where they gathered liquor with the help of an older friend or sibling or the parent's personal collection.

_Hm... _she wondered. Obviously most of them didn't look old enough, but bouncers probably didn't care. What was _that_ whole scene like?

Then she shook herself out of those thoughts. It was way too soon to be thinking so far ahead.

A weird smile she'd never used before spread across her lips, and she felt the difference because of her intent behind it. Then, "Ah, but nothing's really free."

Gary from the soccer team turned abruptly to see the devious expression on her face, mouth partly hidden by the bottle near her lips.

Sometime through this, she could feel her senses becoming dull. She found herself blinking tiredly a few times, and there was a tinge of dizziness that made her wonder if she wasn't leaning sideways or something.

But he must've seen something, because after recovering from her jab he asked, "You okay?"

Her bold behavior (see, confidence) disappeared quickly, remembering he was still some stranger and they were in a stranger's house surrounded by more strangers...

_Oh my god, he's gonna rape me!_ she thought idiotically, blinking at him.

"Nah. I'm good," she responded easily, managing an unaffected smile and hoping she didn't look tipsy.

What did a tipsy person even look like? All she could imagine was someone who was so drunk they spoke in slurs and couldn't walk two steps in a straight line. But her perception might have been an exaggeration of what she'd heard from joking peers and stern adults.

When she took the time to actually look at him, she realized that he was pretty cute and nice and wasn't trying to rip off her clothes with his teeth while slapping her into submission.

"So, how about we see each other again?" he was asking. "Like say, outside of a party, maybe even an intentional meeting?"

Blossom found herself smiling to cover up the shock she felt and took one last, long gulp of her beer before setting it down on the table.

He wasn't all that bad company. But really...she wasn't totally interested in him or their conversation. Nothing really clicked. She probably wouldn't care if he just turned around and walked away without a word. Besides, she wasn't looking to date anyone.

So, why was she still talking to him?

Maybe it was because he was talking to her like a normal person, not expecting her to be super-student Blossom. Maybe she wanted to prove to someone she wasn't as sheltered and naïve as everyone thought. Maybe it was just the alcohol keeping her from outright ditching him. Maybe she needed more alcohol to fall for his predictable charm.

So what would be the best way to let someone down?

Her eyes shifted to the side, mouth twisted up deliberately. After waiting a few moments long enough, she said with a cheeky grin, "I'll think about it." Then, "Well, this has been fun but I've gotta go find some friends."

He didn't fight it or say anything as she turned and left – probably thought she was playing hard-to-get or whatever mind games it was that guys and girls liked to waste energy on.

_I think it's time to head home before I do something I'll regret,_ she said to herself while walking hurriedly – so if her footsteps were uneven and unsteady she'd be gone by the time anyone noticed.

Someone stepped up to the front door at the same moment she did, though his gait was slow and nonchalant.

"You're still here?" But his surprise quickly changed to, "Leaving already?" And Brick smirked before proceeding through the doorway.

She felt stupid for following him, but had no choice.

He paused just outside as she kept up her pace and hopped down the few porch steps.

"Geez Blos, I haven't seen you run away from anything this quick since I did better than you on that science research paper in, like, sophomore year."

"I'm not running away!" she stopped to say indignantly.

"Whatever. It's better. You don't really belong here," he said matter-of-factly, not seeming bothered. She watched as his lips suddenly tightened, expression changing into something she hadn't ever really seen before. "You've already got your perfect little world filled with books and volunteer work at whatever soup kitchen or old person's home it is."

She was stunned for a moment – at his scowl and...

He glared at her for a minute, before sighing and breaking eye contact.

Blossom's head tilted in thought. "Wait. Are you...angry at me?" she questioned in surprise.

Brick shrugged. "No. Why would I be?"

Why, indeed. He'd never gotten seriously angry at her before. Somehow, throughout the years of their rivalry, it always seemed like she was the one getting frustrated with him. Or maybe he just hid his feelings about it all really well, only ever seeming smug with her.

"Just run along already. You must have _homework_ to do," he told her mockingly.

"I–" she began, wanting to know what reason he had to be upset with her and possibly resolve it because the way he was looking at her with some kind of loathing made her want to melt. "Whatever," she said, turning to head down the street.

She could feel his eyes on her back as she turned the corner on her way home.

And despite feeling a little off, she was confident that her strides were straight and she wasn't stumbling down the sidewalk to get away from the advances of a guy she couldn't find herself liking and the hostile feeling Brick was giving off.

_I guess I can check some things off my list of experiences, _she thought. _Drinking. Flirting. Pissing off Brick._

She paused in her walk, almost halfway home already.

_Though I don't know if the last one counts if I don't know how I did it._

It was so nice, that feeling that still lingered throughout her body – all..._mellow_. Well, aside from a few weird and freaked out thoughts. She wasn't as..."uptight" as usual. She didn't automatically smile at everyone that talked to her, wasn't trying to be such a people-pleaser with Gary, didn't care about his feelings when she basically walked out on him without a glance back.

Her mind wasn't having a fit over any of these things – trying to come up with ways to fix the "damage" and whatnot. She even played around with whatshisname in her attempt at flirting, which she didn't think was all that great. But whereas she'd normally be trying to improve her technique right after noticing her flaws – like she did with volleyball – this time she continued on her way without a care.

And the weird– ..._paranoid_ thoughts were most likely a side-effect from her body trying to fight the alcohol's attempt at turning her so thoughtless and relaxed. The combination of her naïveté and imagination was more ridiculous than anyone would ever know. Automatically jumping to conclusions that any guy being nice wanted to take advantage of her? How much more inexperienced and idiotic could she sound?

Well, at least now she knew this whole thing wasn't so hard (though maybe a bit boring), especially with her being so apt at picking things up.

What was so crazy about it? How did things get out of control for people?

Well, that wouldn't happen with her – as long as she took it one step at a time. There would obviously be plenty of opportunities before school was even over.

**xoxo**

**4:01am**

Here is chapter two. We're still just getting the ball rolling, but at least it's moving at all. Things get a lot more interesting as we keep going so stick around.

Um, I guess I wanna address **Skins**, the PPG reds story that has yet to be completed. It isn't finished yet because I'm still unsure what the hell happens at the end. I'm not going to take it down or anything – not yet anyway – but right now I'd just say it's on hiatus.

Also, I know that school has just begun for many people this past month, which also makes it look funny to be posting something about the very end of the school year. **So I'll just say, good luck with everything and try to make the most of it.**

And lastly...I've gotta say, the lack of response from the first chapter worried me. It made me regret even posting it. But maybe it's just because there was so little to go off or something. I'm hoping the rest of the chapters will evoke more from you guys and you'll be yelling at me how you feel and such.

So, thanks for reading and tell me what you think!

9-13-13

7:36pm


	3. sunlight

10-13-12

11:15pm

**Playlist: (Listening to any of the recommended music is optional.)**

The songs in **bold **were specifically used as a small plot device, such as having the lyrics integrated in the story. For most songs, especially those not in bold, you can just listen to the chorus to get a sense of what I thought of/listened to while writing the indicated part. If you're going to listen to the songs, might as well do so before even reading (or after) because listening to everything would take longer than reading the chapter and probably throw off your concentration.

(1) Jason Derülo – Don't Wanna Go Home (contains one curse, "Bitch", so you can try for a censored version)

(2) David Guetta ft Akon – Sexy Chick (This is the censored version of the actual song.)

**(3) Three 6 Mafia ft. Tiësto, Sean Kingston, Flo Rida – Feel It (contains some explicit lyrics)**

**(4) Calvin Harris ft. Ne-Yo – Let's Go**

**(5) Usher ft. Pitbull – DJ Got Us Falling in Love**

**(6) Greg Parys – Why Don't We Just Fuck (contains explicit lyrics, obviously)**

(7) David Guetta & Chris Willis ft. Fergie, LMFAO – Gettin' Over You

**xoxo**

**Title**–**blossoming**

**Party 3–sunlight**

**By**–**Moon Prynces**

**xoxo**

Sometimes she loved being so involved in student government. It meant she knew – or knew of – almost everyone. They were all, if not friends, on friendly terms.

"Hey!" she said to a group just outside on the porch.

"Blossom!" some girl she had math with once squealed over-excitedly.

And maybe it was because this was her third weekend in a row coming out to someone's house party or because this particular group had been here longer than her so they were sufficiently mellowed out, but no one looked shocked at her coming up the walkway.

In fact, they all greeted her just as they would had she been walking down the hallway in school. Well, maybe a bit more happily seeing as they weren't trying to copy each other's homework or do last minute studying or looking haggard from getting up for school in the first place.

Anyway, it was so nice to feel wanted.

"You drove yourself?" one of the guys questioned with a raised brow, bringing a beer can to his lips.

"Oh, you should have called us! Dave lost rock, paper, scissors and has to play designated driver," Elise was telling her, and nudged the unlucky guy.

"Don't worr–" Blossom stopped herself, her thoughts quickly coming to a conclusion. "Sure. Next time I will," she agreed. "How long you been here?"

Another girl, Maria, shrugged while rummaging through her bag. "Like an hour. Someone wanted to get a head start because she got into S. U." Then she looked up pointedly at Elise.

There was some quick chatter about the exciting news as more people went in and out of the house.

"Oh, yeah, I saw Ames around a bit earlier," Dave felt the need to mention.

Blossom smiled. "Alright, I'll see you guys later."

And though it might have looked like she was heading in to find her friends, who she hadn't talked to since class ended yesterday, she really just slunk her way inside and looked around curiously.

It was a small place, just one floor and then the basement – which was where she could hear the pounding of music coming from.

_Ah, I love this song,_ she thought as a familiar radio hit came on. _It really does make you want to dance,_ she noted as some of the lyrics were heard. (1)

But then someone passed by with a freshly opened beer bottle, wisps of air escaping, and she decided to find the source.

This wasn't easy, as she came to realize there was nothing but hard liquor in some corner of the kitchen. The fridge (which she chose to open even if it was a weirdly rude action) was basically empty. Did this kid live alone or were his parents gone for the week?

"Hey, where'd you get the beer?" she asked a pair standing by the doorway and looking very into each other.

If the evening went smoothly, they'd probably be making out behind the couch or something. The thought made her cringe.

"Most of the stuff's downstairs," the guy responded, and then his gaze lingered on her figure after she nodded and began walking past them to the indicated doorway.

While part of her found it creepy, another insisted she should be a little flattered. She didn't have a love life for the same reason she didn't have a social life – because she hadn't cared to try. Which meant that she could stop being a hermit anytime she wanted and it wouldn't be hard to find opportunities, whether with some nice guy like last week or someone more aggressive like whoever that was.

And that's where her thoughts ended and the mindless thumping of music and strange lighting arrangement had her trying to cope with finding something to drink.

Most of the furniture was shoved against walls and there were lamps lit in corners, with the only decent one shining a spotlight onto the table laden with cups and bottles. Luckily it was close to the stairs, so she didn't have to traverse through the bodies writhing around.

_I wanna dance,_ she thought while brushing past people to obtain her beer. No one questioned her actions or even looked at her.

But instead of following through with the thought, the redhead leaned against the tiny space left on a wall and watched.

Two minutes passed.

Then five more.

And another ten.

And she could only keep track because of the clock on the adjacent wall that was within range of a lamp for her to make out the hands.

Even though she didn't have concrete expectations for this weekend's event, she did think there would be more than what she was currently doing.

Another song came on that made her ache. (2)

It was so hot with all these people, and all their jumping around, and the speakers playing music so loud there wasn't room to think...

It was dark enough that you couldn't care about what other people were doing, and feel comfortable enough that no one was watching you...

And there was this awesome, electrified energy in the air; everyone was so hyped up and having a good time and not caring about anything...

She polished off the beer in no time and started on a second.

This wasn't the room for conversation between friends or flirting with a guy or even just making out in a dark corner. While there were people leaning against walls and whisper-yelling to each other, most were watching and taking small sips from their cups.

No wonder there were people upstairs.

Whose house was this? Didn't the person worry about losing anything or someone breaking something?

It was probably because she was practically inhaling the stuff, but the symptoms came quicker than last time. She could feel her insides – normally tightly wrapped and wired – being uncoiled slowly, and then drifting up like smoke.

She found herself nodding her head with the music, mouthing words she knew. A crooked smile came across her lips at the lyrics and how nice the sounds were.

She was hardly paying attention to the time anymore.

Blossom looked down at the bottle, letting out some kind of exasperated sigh.

_Don't they call this stuff liquid courage or something?_

A glance up at the "dancefloor" showed people swaying to the beat, some still holding onto their drinks while others held onto each other.

It looked...so much fun – much more so than jumping around and mumbling the words to herself all alone in her room. Which now seemed pathetic compared this atmosphere that begged her to give in already.

_Screw this,_ she finally thought and swallowed the last of her beer before walking forth carelessly.

It was...so _easy_...to meld in and get lost.

People didn't really move aside to make room for her, but she managed to navigate.

And then, it was like she had always been in there with them. You couldn't tell that she'd never really dove in like this. And though her movements were cautious and tame at first, no one noticed. No one even cared.

But then, this one song that she'd never heard before came on and her lips curled upward and she fell into the rhythm and... **(3)**

_It was amazing._

Suddenly a bunch of people around her shouted with the song, "I said DJ turn the music up! And send another round over to my cup! I wanna _feel _it!"

And then they faded out, a few still singing the words to themselves but were drowned out as the song continued on.

Her limbs felt loose and her head was uncluttered. There was nothing but the music – each song going in one ear and out the other, and not being fully processed.

She wasn't thinking about how much she enjoyed it; she just did.

She started laughing to herself while throwing one arm into the air as everyone else did the same, not caring that someone was probably being hit by her ponytail.

Why hadn't she ever done this before?

A person didn't even really need alcohol for this. Well, as long as they had the confidence already. Otherwise they'd be standing around tentatively for twenty minutes like she had.

When she turned around after a few songs, it was to a guy watching her and shuffling closer after making eye contact. And she didn't care.

Didn't care that he moved way closer than she'd normally allow. Didn't care that he grinned at her in a completely perverse way while she smiled stupidly up at him. Didn't care that he put a hand on the small of her back to keep her close enough that they had to occasionally brush up against each other in the dense crowd.

She didn't care that after a few more songs he leaned in to try and tell her something, instead just whisper-yelling back, "No thanks!" so that he shrugged and moved on to another target.

Every time a song dissolved into another, she fell in love with it. They were all perfect.

And dancing wasn't hard or awkward. She knew what to do. She'd just never danced by herself in a crowd. Or in this kind of scene. And to all these songs. (School functions didn't really play such erotic, colorful lyrics.)

She spotted some girls she sat with at lunch and one of them grabbed her hand to dance with her, lighting up ecstatically at a familiar face.

There wasn't much else said apart from the quick greetings and a few inquiries like, "When'd you get here?"

It was a different experience dancing to these songs with another girl. School dances, where Blossom didn't always participate, couldn't compare.

Katie – one of the girls who always admired the natural but uncommon hair color she possessed – grabbed ahold of her hands to shimmy and shake and sway with her.

Blossom admired her moves for a few minutes before mimicking what she could and adding her own talents to it.

Her dizziness didn't show so much with some of the spinning she did. She shared smiles and giggles with them, hands retracting and reattaching whenever certain, crowd-pleasing songs came on.

She felt kind of liquid-y, just going along with everything. After exchanging those few words and excited looks, she sunk back into not thinking, not feeling, not caring about anything or even really looking around. Her eyes fell closed more often than not, opening every once in a while to adjust to the constantly moving surroundings or when one of the girls caught hold of her for a dance.

If she could form a coherent thought, she might realize the alcohol and adrenaline from dancing was what was giving her that surprisingly light, out-of-body and..._free_ feeling.

**xoxo**

It was some time later (she hadn't been paying attention to the clock) that she started to feel her senses ebbing their way back in.

Her feet hurt.

There was a cold sweat down her back.

She was kind of tired.

_Maybe a break,_ her thoughts came up with.

There was some lull in the music where she couldn't find herself enjoying the string of songs – some because they just didn't seem her taste or she couldn't get into the rhythm.

And as she made her descent from her high and the beers she'd drank so quickly wore off, she took the time to glance around at everyone, and to actually examine the girls she knew so well.

Or at least she thought she did.

It was a good thing they had found her, because she might not have ever recognized them. They looked so different.

Blossom's movements slowed as she looked at the people around them, some she knew and others she didn't.

There seemed to be some general consensus that girls should...dress up? The guys had their predictable clean shirts, decent jeans and hair styled into whatever they thought they could pull off. But most of the girls...

It was so different from what they wore to school. A whole transformation with tight, flashy clothes; wild and messy hair; dark colors on eyelids that emphasized their shape; glossy and bright lips... And shoes! How did they even walk in those things, nevermind trying to dance in them?

They all looked so much more mature than what she saw everyday during...the _day._

It made her look down to the plain, almost loose-fitting, jeans and shirt she had carelessly thrown on. Even though she had so many different kinds of clothes in her closet – styles that people might not even peg her for being into – she stuck to her normal, overly-modest outfits.

She made another glance around before pulling away from the few girls she was with.

"Where are you going?" one of them shouted into her ear to be heard.

"Bathroom," she replied, and they turned away without another word.

So she carefully tried to find the edge of the crowd while everyone was still moving to the beat (or the beat in their head).

This was when she developed a technique for navigating through the spaces between people. Since most of them would never hear her polite 'excuse me's and it would really just interrupt them, she tried to make sure she was seen making a path for herself. And for the people who weren't looking in her general direction, she went ahead to squeeze through whatever cracks there were after putting a warning hand on the person's shoulder or back so they recognized a presence and wouldn't suddenly knock her off her feet or be surprised when they felt her brush by.

And then it was open waters. The small, not-so-crowded perimeter seemed to be smaller than before...

"Bathroom?" she questioned after tapping some girl who was watching the scene tiredly from one of the worn couches.

The girl shrugged to a door nearby, but when she tried it it was locked.

_Shit,_ she thought. _There's gotta be one upstairs._

She weighed the options for a moment.

_Might as well get some air._

It was while she traipsed up the stairs that she felt the atmosphere change – like waking up from a vivid dream. It was while looking into the bathroom mirror that she realized she looked a mess.

So she tried to retie her ponytail to halfway presentable and washed her face, not worrying about the little bit of makeup that had basically already melted off from the heat downstairs.

"Ow!"

"Sorry about–"

They both paused, her about to fall into the doorframe and him holding onto her elbow to prevent it.

Then Brick grinned and Blossom rolled her eyes, last week's encounter forgotten as he reverted back to his usual, getting-under-her-skin behavior.

"Hey," he raised a brow.

The two moved aside as someone else headed into the bathroom.

She nodded to him while walking to the kitchen, which was nowhere near as empty as earlier. Luckily, someone had restocked the counter and there were a few types of beer around.

And, well, she wasn't feeling as uncoiled and mellow as before – the alcohol in her system was practically gone – so she might as well have another unless she planned on leaving really soon.

She paused while reaching for a bottle.

Was she going to leave soon? Should she?

Then she remembered Brick was watching and she wanted to head back downstairs to join her classmates, so she went ahead.

"What?" she finally asked after he had been watching her with a small smile for an unnerving two minutes.

"So what has the class president been up to? Obviously drinking, I can see," he commented with folded arms, undoubtedly trying to get a reaction.

"Oh, Brick," she sighed while reaching forth to rip off his favorite cap. "That isn't news."

He stared in surprise at her actions, but she just examined it indifferently in one hand with her drink in the other. Finally he questioned skeptically, "How many of those have you had?"

Blossom glanced up in surprise for a moment, but then started laughing. It died down quick enough for her to smile at him mischievously. "Wouldn't you like to know." And she tilted her head back to take a long gulp as he watched. "Not enough for me to forget you're a prick, but enough for me to admit you're good-looking enough to be seen with."

His brows slowly descended smugly. "Did you just call me hot?"

She rolled her eyes again. "Sure, hear what you want."

Brick grinned back. "Fine."

There was a pause and she didn't once berate herself for letting slip that she thought he was...pleasant looking. Even with this stupid, old hat – which she then flicked onto her own head lazily and continued sipping away at her beer.

His surprise at her move was shorter than last time, and instead he watched her in amusement.

"So...you're not still angry at me?" she asked, just to break the silence as everyone around them chattered on in their own groups.

He made some face like he was cringing. "Ah, don't worry about that."

Her own expression changed drastically. "I'm not worried," she scoffed in denial.

A casual glance around revealed Amy in the other room behind him, and caused her to freak out a moment.

_Oh shoot, I totally forgot about them! Should I go over and say something?_ she wondered.

Then she recalled the last time she'd done such a thing and the shameful, embarrassed feeling of being reamed by your own friends.

Well, it wasn't like they did absolutely everything together. She could stand another weekend without them...or them knowing what she was up to.

Blossom felt his eyes watching her carefully, and tried to refocus.

"Uh..." she started in an effort to pull her own thoughts away from the subject. "You been here long?"

"Longer than you, I'm sure," he shot back, just to be annoying.

But she didn't get annoyed. "Doubt it," she replied while pulling the ends of her ponytail over her shoulder to play with. "What time is it, anyway?"

His brows went up as she tried to find a clock that worked. But the microwave was blinking a number that was clearly wrong and the stove was being blocked by someone and she didn't even notice the wall clock because it was behind her.

"Words of someone who's lost track of time. What have you been doing?"

A familiar song started up beneath their feet and she glanced down. **(4)** Then she looked up to gulp down as much of her beer as possible before leaving the last bit on the counter.

"Dancing," she said hurriedly. "And that sounds like my song, so I'll see you later."

There was no hiding the excited tone or expression and Brick watched as she headed for the stairs. But then she paused at the doorway and turned around.

"Wanna come with?" she asked shortly.

He shrugged slowly, feeling her impatience but deciding to mess with her. "It's not really my thing."

Except he was abruptly pulled along with her while she said smartly, "How do you know if you haven't tried?" She threw a grin over her shoulder while they tripped down the stairs as everyone was getting seriously wound up at this song.

"Let's go!" the speakers told her, and he didn't bother fighting it as she dragged him into the crowd. "Let's go!" it went again when she found a niche and turned to face him.

She went back to dancing, hips swaying and shoulders moving with eyes closing every once in a while. Brick could literally see the effect it was having on her, and it made him chuckle while he tried to keep up. She didn't even seem to care that he was there with her.

When the crowd threatened to separate them because of the normal amount of distance he kept, he broke it by putting both hands on her waist and surprising her for a brief moment.

Blossom grinned up at him, forgetting about finding her friends or telling him to let go or that he might make fun of her come Monday. So she slung an arm around his neck to keep them closer than she'd normally be comfortable with. This was definitely not the same as dancing with some girlfriends. Or even with another strange guy eyeing her lewdly.

She wasn't considering that he was the one who tried to frame her for cheating during that history test two years ago or that she was the one to start that rumor about him having moved away the week he had to get his appendix removed.

Some way through the song slowed down to a more sensual pace with just the artist singing and minimal music in the background. She followed along, looking up at him happily before it picked up again and people were throwing their hands in the air.

Whoever was DJing in the corner began mixing in a new song with a different tempo and a slightly different theme. **(5)**

The two glanced at each other, not thinking anything as the word love was thrown around in there. In fact, if the song had brought up hating or despising a person then it was more likely they would stiffen in shock and separate abruptly.

It was probably an ego boost to the guy playing it, as everyone cheered on his decision. But before the song was even half done, it morphed into something else entirely that caused the crowd to stir up again.

One second the words, "...falling in love again, in love again..." drifted out, then after an abrupt stop it went... **(6)**

The words were repeated once more and made Blossom – already wide-eyed – cringe while a slighted accented female voice uttered in an uncaring tone, "So...why don't we just fuck?"

Everyone else loved it.

Well, it _was_ an upbeat song that made her want to keep dancing. The lyrics normally wouldn't have gotten to her; she wasn't completely sheltered.

But here she was, dancing with her rival while the song playing suggested a hook-up or something, and she couldn't help her good sense coming back, thoughts combining Brick and sex, and he _was _pretty hot, and she just realized she still had his stupid cap on, and damnit this was getting awkward with his fingers on her shirt – the same shirt she'd worn just last week when she somehow walked into the school library's swinging doors with him as a witness!

It made her look down in horror at herself as her brain was comparing her boring, _normal_ self with the many girls nearby who were strutting their stuff. She wanted to pull back her arm and shake off his hands.

Why was she even getting all self-conscious with Brick of all people?

But he didn't look uncomfortable at all. He just raised a brow at her slowed pace and no-longer-chipper expression.

Thankfully, the song switched over to something else before she had a stroke. (8)

But she still couldn't shake the weird feeling, barely even looking at him and becoming too aware of their physical contact, which on a normal day meant they were trying to kill and/or antagonize each other in some competition or argument.

Brick smirked at her subdued behavior. He used his hold to tug her even closer before leaning to her ear and making the poor girl freeze up.

"Who says I haven't tried it?" he responded to her words that now seemed so far in the past she didn't even catch on to what he meant until he untangled himself, snatching back his hat, and turned to leave her standing stupidly between bodies still moving.

Blossom watched him, unable to hide the absolutely stunned expression on her face and feeling somewhat foolish, a tiny bit numb, and with heat burning down the back of her neck.

She was so _stupid_, was the only thing going through her head. Stupid to think other people were as inexperienced as her – even Brick!

Pulling him into dancing with her after _assuming_ he'd never tried it? All she'd done was prove her own naïveté.

And who was she to try and be the poster child for taking risks and stepping out of your comfort zone? She hadn't done any such thing for most of her life until now.

Was he laughing to himself at her childish, eager behavior? Acting all excited like some puppy out of a cage?

She was such a know-it-all most of the time. And she did learn things quite quickly. But that didn't account for her easily excitable expression, and grabbing his hand like she knew what she was doing after only having danced like this and to these songs for the first time.

She was glad the alcohol kept her unsteady in this already unsteadying situation. It made her brave enough to be so chummy with Brick, but not enough to forget that he was just another guy – and she didn't know a thing about guys.

**xoxo**

10-14-12

9:14pm

Okay guys, there is chapter three. I get so excited when I reread this one, because this gets so interesting from now on. And to see some real Blossom/Brick interaction is so amazing. I mean, I should be all used to it cuz I wrote it, but it still gets me worked up. When I was rereading the story last week – for continuity and such – I was all, "Oh my god, you guys! I can't wait for you to read this one! Stuff starts to happen!" Even though I was, of course, talking to myself.

Um, I wanted to address an inquiry from **Madame Fist**, who asked if any of the other PPG characters that we know and love will make an appearance in this story. The answer is, unfortunately, no they will not. That's explained better at the very end of the story with the long and boring commentary I have pretty much written. But I'm sure you'll see as the story goes that it would just be too much to include any of the others, and hopefully you'll be okay with that. The main plot of the story is, after all, about Blossom. And then there's the added bonus of a reds romance.

So, what did you think of this chapter? What did you think of the characters? What did you think of their interaction? What did you think of the music? What direction do you think this is gonna take? What do you think is going to happen and what do you want to happen?

No need to answer _all_ those questions, but thanks for reading and just be sure to tell me what you think.

...Okay, just one at the very least. When was the last time you danced? At a party, a club, a family reunion – anything where you were with people that you either knew or didn't know or were related to or whatever. When was the last time you had a good time with music like that?

I myself have been enjoying it more often the past few months. Got a party to head to this coming weekend. XD Can't wait.

9-16-13

12:53am


	4. photosynthesis

10-14-12

9:31pm

**Idea for Blossom's outfit came from google image searching for something that involved leather pants. To see the image that is pretty much what I had in mind when writing, just google image search the words in quotation marks: "leather pants Leighton Meester Bergdorf".**

**Playlist: (Listening to any of the recommended music is optional.)**

The songs in **bold **were specifically used as a small plot device, such as having the lyrics integrated in the story. For most songs, especially those not in bold, you can just listen to the chorus to get a sense of what I thought of/listened to while writing the indicated part. If you're going to listen to the songs, might as well do so before even reading (or after) because listening to everything would take longer than reading the chapter and probably throw off your concentration.

**(1) Flo Rida ft. David Guetta **–** Club Can't Handle Me**

**(2) Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP **–** We No Speak Americano (I think it really pulls you in at about 00:46 seconds...)**

(3) Far East Movement ft. Cover Drive – Turn Up the Love

(4) Havana Brown ft. Pitbull – We Run the Night (one curse, "fuck", so you can look for a clean version)

(5) Kelly Rowland – Commander

**(6) Pitbull ft. T-pain **–** Hey Baby (Drop It to the Floor)**

**(7) Britney Spears **–** Gimme More (one curse at the very beginning, "bitch", so you can try to find a clean version if you'd like)**

**(8) MSTRKRFT ft. N.O.R.E. & Isis **–** Bounce (Honestly, you won't be able to understand half of the verses, though I believe some might be considered offensive. Anyway, I love this song mainly for the chorus, and I don't think there is a clean version. Skip if you'd like.)**

**(9) The Cataracs ft. Dev **–** Top of the World**

**xoxo**

**Title**–**blossoming**

**Party 4–photosynthesis**

**By**–**Moon Prynces**

**xoxo**

"What are you wearing?" Amy questioned with a disbelieving laugh.

Blossom laughed along instead of getting upset.

Mel shushed her and got out of the car, motioning for the redhead to spin around and show off this outfit. "That looks so amazing," she started with. "Thank god the weather's picking up. Finally feels like spring."

One of the guys, who would only be dropping them off, yelled, "Stop admiring her assets and get in here already! I've a got date, you know."

"Yeah, with a video game," Amy muttered behind him.

He proceeded to turn around and try shoving her shoulder, which quickly turned into the two slapping their hands at each other with the car seat preventing any real confrontation.

"Calm down, children," Mel was saying as she slid into the back with Blossom following.

"I don't suppose your phone's in there somewhere?" the other girl joked, glancing down at the supposed pockets.

She shrugged, making an exaggeratedly comical face.

"Well, it's a good thing you decided to join us," Amy went on happily.

Blossom decidedly ignored the fact that they had shunned her the first time she had gone to a party – less than a month ago. Maybe it had just been a shock to them because she had showed up last minute on a whim and basically stood around for an hour, proving her inadequacy.

It was so weird. From movies and TV shows, she thought things were more dramatic. But not many people had noticed her out and about the past two weekends. Everything was actually normal in school. It was like the nighttime and partying was a completely different world. Sure, there were a few rumors and stories sometimes, but it was only a tiny portion of all the things that happened. It was really one of those 'you had to be there' experiences.

Either way, she hadn't offered any information on how she spent last Saturday and the Friday two weeks ago.

But tonight would be different. For one thing, she wasn't showing up by herself. Another, she wasn't as awkward and ignorant about the whole thing. And this time–

"Get out," their ungracious driver said after stopping in the middle of the street.

Amy stuck out her tongue, making sure to slam her car door. "You're such an ass."

His arm rested on the open window. "Babe, if I had a dollar for every time I heard that one."

"You'd have enough to win my heart," she finished with a grin, tapping the hood of the car while walking around it.

It was totally different entering a stranger's house with a group. Anyone near the entrance that recognized them instantly started with greetings. It was unsubtle and caused people from various other schools to look over curiously.

"Blossom, you look awesome!"

"Took you guys long enough."

"Where's that loser you call a boyfriend, Ames?"

After they were settled in a group recalling Friday's pathetic attempt at a senior prank, Blossom opted to escape for a drink. She remembered how nice it was – that slight unhinged feeling. The right amount just made you relax enough to not overthink your words or actions.

"I'm gonna get a beer," she whispered to whoever was nearby (Amy).

Said girl looked at her strangely a moment. "'Kay. Get me one too, will ya?"

While wandering around, looking for a sign of alcohol, she was very aware of the attention on her. Not just from guys either.

This party was at another huge house, and there were a heck of a lot more people than the place she was at last weekend. So maybe it was just probability that more people from her school were around and that she'd be noticed.

Blossom smiled and said vague 'Hey's to anyone familiar that caught her eye.

It was into the kitchen again – this time much bigger than she'd ever seen – that she found it. Someone was playing bartender while others watched on and there was a group sitting at the big table playing a game that made them cheer, cajole and laugh at each other while taking shots.

"Blossom," a serious voice started, the person latching onto her upper arms to turn her in a specific direction.

She looked down to a petite girl whose grip was surprisingly strong.

"Where did you get those pants?" she questioned sternly.

The redhead started laughing. "Bee, are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Look," the girl started. "Before you charge me for assault, just tell me." A grin broke out on her face and she let go of her victim. "I feel like I haven't seen you at all since chemistry last year."

"You would, if you hadn't dropped out of track and field," she replied with a look. She turned halfway to the island counter and slapped a hand down, catching Bartender's attention. "A beer, please." And she smiled in a pleasing way so that he quickly popped open a cap and handed it to her while his male friends whined at the gesture.

Bee – a nickname she was forced to live with after an embarrassing incident with the named creature – was looking her up and down, taking in the tight leather pants that wrapped around her legs and airy white-collared shirt with sleeves rolled up carelessly and tucked in just slightly that would turn see-through the moment any liquid landed on it.

That, or she'd just melt completely.

Also surprising, for her anyway, was that her hair wasn't in its usual, straight-laced ponytail tonight. Instead it had random waves and kinks, as if she'd just let it air-dry right outta the shower before getting ready. The effect made her look decidedly not-Blossom-like, seeming more casual and approachable.

Since last week's revelation, she decided to go for it. Why not? She figured the clothes were a part of this whole thing – partying, clubbing, concerts or whatever. It kind of seemed to help people create a better experience.

Okay, the dressing up was fun and she just wanted to try it. Nothing wrong with that.

"Wardrobe malfunction?" the shorter girl joked.

Blossom went from glancing down at her blindingly white flats to suddenly staring at a spot past the kitchen doorway where Brick was standing with a grin and raising his brows at having attracted her gaze.

She stopped breathing a few seconds, which made the beating of her heart more pronounced so she couldn't even tell if it was faster than normal or not.

He bit his bottom lip, still grinning, and shook his head at her before turning away to leave the scene.

Maybe he would have approached her if things hadn't been a little weird between them since last weekend. Rivals though they were, they still spoke to each other in a civil manner most of the time. It just sometimes had back-handed compliments and mocking gestures and there used to be this competitive air before that whole senioritis deal.

But the past week he would just catch sight of her and give some look like he was laughing at her. And not necessarily in a bad way. More like friends recalling a private joke.

_Friends._ Now that had a question mark all over it.

Were they friends? Did she want to be friends with him? Why bother? They'd be graduating soon and heading off in different directions. Did _he _see them as friends now that he was all laid-back and not trying to steal her thunder? Did he want to be friends?

"Uh," she started shakily, chuckling at her own expense and looking back to her friend. "No, I just...had them lying around."

"It doesn't seem like your usual style," Bee commented, picking up her own cup on the counter to sip from.

"Maybe," Blossom looked at her outfit again, seeming like something she'd plucked directly from a magazine page. "But it's something I've always wanted to try."

**xoxo**

When she found her way back to her original group, almost an hour later and after a long talk with Bee about prom and the future and whatever else the small girl could come up with, Blossom was itching to start dancing in the huge living room with huge speakers in three of the corners and people already making a huge stumbling mass – all because her newly favorited song had come on.

From what she could see, the room was dimly lit in specific areas and most of the furniture had been moved to other rooms entirely. There was something missing from the center of the ceiling so she figured they must have moved a chandelier, and they'd managed to set up some kind of strobe light somewhere. She shouldn't have been surprised at anything; these people could obviously afford to do whatever they wanted.

And she was finally done with that first beer (there wasn't much chance when talking with Bee), putting down the bottle on a nearby table without a care, so there was nothing stopping her.

"Blos, where are you going?" Mel whispered in her direction as she began drifting towards the other end of this mansion.

"Uh, to dance?" she said at the scary, almost parental look she was getting.

"Wait, there was this guy who wanted me to introduce you." And she looked up to make eye contact with someone a few yards away who was obviously waiting for this cue.

She muttered like a petulant child, "Well, why doesn't he introduce _himself _then?"

And then someone was standing in front of her just as her song ended and she pouted.

"Blossom, this is Anthony. Anthony," Mel turned to him, "Mess with her and you'll regret it."

The redhead's eyes widened and mouth dropped open as her and the newcomer stared down one of her best friends in surprise. But the girl just winked and walked off to give the two privacy.

"Well," the unlucky guy started. "That wasn't awkward or anything."

"Awkward for me, scary for you," she muttered.

"She doesn't look that tough," he responded, and turned to her with a smile. "I can outrun her."

She couldn't help it; she actually started laughing. Partly because it was untrue, but she kept it to herself.

Then a brilliant idea came to her. "Wanna dance?" she asked hopefully.

He turned to that part of the house and could just make out the scene between a few people blocking the path.

"I can always leave you here to talk to the potted plants," Blossom raised a brow at him, beginning to turn away.

"Fine, you convinced me. But I'm not really the type..." he tried to say as she started walking and he was forced to follow.

His words reminded her of another person saying something similar.

**(1)** But then they were up close and personal with one of the speakers and her thoughts were drowned out by the music and the feeling in the air and she gave up trying to get to know this guy who really only cared about the fact that she looked like a fashionista and was probably hoping to get her out of these clothes.

Her hands automatically wrapped up around his neck comfortably and his settled on her hips before they started moving to the song.

**xoxo**

There was nothing wrong with him. He didn't try to move his hands to inappropriate places, or take over her personal space, or suggest they head to one of the many corners or rooms in this place.

But something was off.

She kept having flashbacks of an uncomfortable but enticing feeling that crept up with her last dance partner. It was filled with tension that made her want to drop dead, but also anticipation that made her eager for the other person to do something... But what?

It just wasn't enough now. It wasn't as exciting as it should have been.

Maybe she _wanted _him to try something. Maybe she was tired of attracting nice guys, like that soccer guy before. Maybe...she just needed another beer or something.

After a couple songs she mumbled something about the bathroom and that she'd be back in a second, but he still followed her out as far as the foyer before she dove in-between people to the dining room.

A loud cheer made her jump out of her thoughts, so she walked closer to investigate.

"One."

Everyone participating in this little game looked nervous.

"Two."

Hands were resting all around on the table where a line of shot glasses filled with a clear liquid awaited.

"Three!"

And, uncaring of the consequences of her interruption, Blossom reached over before the guy actually finished to snatch up someone's glass and took it down in one gulp that had them all pausing, some even looking on in admiration.

"Blossom!" a voice said in surprise. "You could have just asked to join."

A girl spoke up. "Nah, she can have mine."

"Don't be a wuss."

"I'm not a–"

"Can I drink this now?"

Someone held up a hand for a high-five that she gave in to while asking, "What the hell did I just drink?" She made a face at the taste – which was so much worse than beer. It was bitter and it burned and ohmygod the taste just lingered and made her want to throw up.

"It's just vodka," the same girl (a member of the school's science club, she realized) was saying as someone refilled the glass she'd taken. Other than her and a few other people, Blossom didn't know most of this group. "It's not that bad."

Another little plastic cup was produced specifically for the redhead.

"Alright, for real this time," the leader of them was saying.

Blossom shrugged to herself and went along with them, grabbing her cup. This time, she wasn't as graceful and didn't take it all down in one gulp, the liquid lingering on her tongue long enough to make her cough.

No one was really paying attention to her though; some were complaining, others laughing and making conversation, and the alcohol was forgotten for the moment when they decided to regroup later for another round.

As people split up, most heading off to other corners of the house, she was stuck standing there trying to cope with the taste. And her friends were nowhere to be seen, so she decided to find that Anthony guy and pick up where they left off. Maybe she'd even get to know him.

Except now that seemed impossible because he wasn't where she'd left him, and it seemed like people were always moving around so she couldn't get a handle on what was going on.

_Where is everybody?_ she wondered.

A small headache started that she had to massage away, and it was like twenty degrees warmer inside the house than it had been outside. She was thanking good luck that these supposedly leather pants weren't as tight and unmoving as everyone seemed to believe, actually stretching a bit in places when needed and so close to her skin that she didn't really feel how hot it was.

Then a song started up that made her grin and she headed back to the living room. **(2)**

It was only a minute in that she attracted attention from some guy that she didn't recognize. He sidled up close, smiled invitingly and she knew the drill by now. Her arms rested lazily on his shoulders, meeting loosely behind his neck, while his own landed on the flimsy material of her shirt where it snuck under her pants.

He tried to grin suggestively but she kept her eyes closed or averted most of the time, and instead of following his lead she moved to her own beat and forced him to go with it – probably in the hopes that he'd see more of her later.

Anyway, it looked like he was from another high school, maybe even a college, nearby. When she did look up to examine him with raised brows, she caught him eyeing her outfit with leather-clad hips working furiously.

But he also knew what he was doing. He wasn't some shy, unknowing dancer like Anthony or lazily following her moves like Brick. It seemed like this guy loved music, too. He looked up at songs that he liked, cheering along with other people. Then he would glance down at their bodies, one hand rising in the air as his hips shifted along too.

Blossom loved it. It was like talking to someone about common interests, except it was just dancing to music because they both liked dancing and music.

Songs kept passing without incident, mainly pumping out the catchy choruses that had people throwing their hands up excitedly. (3) (4)

She was kind of sweating by then – even though it was a bigger place, there were still a lot of people.

And weirdly, she quickly felt herself going from that pleasant, barely detached sensation to dizzy. Even when her eyes were closed, and she let him move her around to the songs, it was still there. It wasn't as bad if she kept moving though, and as long as someone was there to make sure she didn't fall.

So, she found herself not caring when one of his hands slipped lower down the side of her hip. And she put a little effort into making sure she wasn't flailing around stupidly and hoping her movements didn't look as ridiculous as they felt, because part of her remembered what drunk people looked like from the outside perspective. Then again, no one in the crowd cared.

And she wasn't really drunk. Just tipsy or something. She was totally in control of this situation. (5)

**xoxo**

It took a while (she wasn't even sure how long had passed – like an hour?), but her patience with her dance partner ran out when his hands not only crept further downwards, but he smashed their bodies together unnecessarily. By then the dizziness wasn't as bad, and the unpleasantness of it all made her flinch away while rolling her eyes at his pathetic attempts.

Luckily, the same girl from before caught sight of her and was immediately walking over with a determined gaze.

"Hey, I got a text," she started, shouting into the redhead's ear while whatshisname looked on curiously. "Donny's got the next round lined up!" she went on happily. "I'll bring her back," she said to the guy, and then grabbed her arm to drag her off to the kitchen – their new setting. "Look who I found on my way here!"

About half of the original group was there along with a few newcomers and most looked up at her introduction.

"Jamie, let the poor girl go. She looks scared of you," a guy laughed.

"Yeah right! I rescued her!" And she exchanged a look with Blossom, who smiled wryly.

"He wasn't all bad. At first," she replied with a shrug.

There was a brief moment of hesitation, wondering if another one of these was a good idea. She wasn't sure exactly how long had passed, and a miscellaneous piece of info in her brain said too many of these in a short amount of time wasn't a great idea.

But her vision wasn't tilting as much, and if her steps were unsteady a second ago it was most likely (hopefully) from the other girl's vigor.

So she shrugged and grabbed a tiny glass, everyone clinking them together before throwing their heads back.

"Hey, have you seen Amy or Melanie around here?" Blossom suddenly asked the girl, whose attention was already being pulled away to some of her own friends.

"Why don't you just call 'em?" Donny asked while concentrating on pouring more liquid into the cups as two girls backed out, saying they were done.

The redhead raised a brow, even as he wasn't looking. "Does it look like I have a phone on me?"

"I call a strip search!" a guy shouted, hand in the air like a child.

Someone slapped the back of his head and laughter echoed around. Though a few eyes stilled on her form, she ignored them in favor of leaning back against the wall to listen in on the nearby conversation.

"You too?"

And she glanced up to Donny, who was watching her intently and waiting for an answer.

A moment was all it took to decide with another careless shrug. "Yeah, sure."

_Why not?_ she thought, walking closer to the table again. She'd have one more and then go find Mel, see what they were up to and possibly head out to eat because by this point she was starving and the last thing she wanted to do was stick her hand in the bowls of chips, nuts or whatever snacks were out. They might as well be licking each other's fingers.

She snorted in amusement at the idea.

**xoxo**

All thoughts were gone. **(6)** Music was the only thing filtering through her ears to her brain. And the dense heat was hardly a bother, though she was perspiring so much that her bangs stuck to her forehead. If she could think straight, she'd be happy to have not chosen heels with this outfit.

She didn't know how long she'd been dancing this time. There was a brief period, between that last shot and it addling her mind, where she tried to look for her friends before the songs called to her again.

Another random guy she didn't know the name of had appeared behind her, grasping her hips just barely, and she leaned her back against his chest as the songs became more erotic the later it got. **(7)**

When she opened her eyes to get a look at his face, it made her lips pull across in a pleased smile. From what she could see he was good-looking enough so she didn't mind the company. And he smiled back crookedly with a raised brow, but didn't say anything.

So she had turned back to droop her head onto his shoulder, eyes so heavily lidded they were practically closed most of the time, while she rocked her hips gently to the beats.

There was some tingly feeling that went out to all her limbs, making her too tired to do anything or think. Like her body was numb, but also a bit twitchy. It wasn't pleasant at all, so she didn't care about drifting off to avoid it – even though it meant putting a lot of her weight on this random guy.

Every time a song dragged on too long and she fell into a pattern, fatigue would loom. But then a new one would swoop in, invigorating her like the smell of coffee, and she'd smile lazily at the amazing sounds.

Her partner daringly wrapped his left arm around her middle, landing on the other side of her still-clean white shirt. It only made her giggle somewhat at the slight ticklish feeling of someone touching her so intimately, but she didn't shrug him off.

A crowd favorite that she'd never heard came on, causing the majority to put their hands up while belting out the chorus. **(8)** The guy behind her grabbed her right hand with his own to throw in the air and do the same.

She was hardly paying attention to anything he was doing, or the words to songs she didn't know. So with her being so pliable, and him knowing this, he started kissing the side of her neck she left exposed.

They were feather light at first. Or maybe she just couldn't feel them as well with being all numb?

One.

Then three.

And a few more.

It made her smile, tickled again at this weird sensation, and lift her left hand up to place behind his head. He took this as a good sign.

His right hand let go of hers, where it now hung, to pull aside the collar of her shirt – though she had already left two buttons undone – and his kisses continued.

She leaned back against him fully, and they were barely moving to the song at all even though it was one she really liked. **(9)**

And she felt as both of his hands ghosted over her shirt to the next button, moving slowly so she wouldn't notice. She wanted to roll her eyes at him, because she wasn't stupid enough to _not_ wear a tank top inside such a sheer shirt, but she was pretty much asleep on her feet and not fighting him.

The room seemed darker somehow. No one around them cared what was going on; it probably seemed like she was encouraging him.

How much had she had to drink again? She really should find Mel and– What time was it anyway?

She opened her mouth to say something, but wasn't sure if anything came out or maybe she hadn't spoken loud enough.

Then, at the peak of this song, someone cleared a path to them so abruptly that she could hear troubled teens give half-hearted complaints before her arm was grabbed harshly and she was tugged away from her current dance partner.

Blossom's eyes popped open tiredly as she stumbled into the person, but it took a few moments to think to look up at the face.

Some words were exchanged between the two fighting over her.

She didn't mind, just leaned her forehead against the person in front of her before she was once again being pulled along outside the crowd with the good-looking pervert left behind to shrug and turn away.

She spied so many people she knew, all who looked at her with slight interest but no one smiling back or shouting cheerful words like earlier.

"Brick? What're you doing?" she asked. Even to her own ears, the few words came out faster than she meant, and she wondered if that was her slurring.

The now cold spring air slapped her in the face and, combined with her thin shirt and the sweat on her skin, she started shivering before they made it down the walkway.

He didn't answer, but glanced over in time to see her looking awake but cold and ready to stumble into a mess on the sidewalk. He looked on pitifully, stopping shortly to let her catch her breath but having no jacket or sweater of his own to offer.

"Taking you home. Don't worry, my car's around the corner," he told her, hand slipping down to just grasping her elbow.

Then she remembered.

"I should go find Mel," she turned back to the house longingly.

His eyes rolled. "Yeah right. You can't walk straight, you can barely speak coherently, and you're never gonna find them before someone else is crawling all over you."

She frowned, and he started leading her again as she complained. "So what? I didn't need you to save me!"

"Are you stupid?" he suddenly questioned, causing her anger at him to falter. "How much have you had to drink? Do you know what could've happened?"

Blossom didn't try to pull away as he opened a car door for her, but her voice came out low and quite steady for someone in her position. "So _what?_"

Brick paused, about to push her toward the vehicle to get in.

She shrugged off his grip and leaned her back against the car, arms folded with what she hoped was a smirk. "Maybe I knew exactly what I was getting into."

He watched, hand on top of the open door.

There was silence as his face went from confused to astounded while she stared him down coolly.

Finally she groaned, sounding more sober than she felt. "Maybe I didn't mind at all. He was hot and his hands were soft and he was nice enough to not grind his pelvis against mine like some animal and maybe I _wanted _him to kiss me in the middle of a crowded room while no one was paying attention. Geez, Brick, what're you? My guardian?" Her words were just as rushed as before, but the rambling sounded intentional.

His back straightened and jaw clenched. "Really? You wanted some guy you don't even know the name of to kiss you? You'd rather let him touch you anywhere he wanted in a public place while you're so drunk you can't stand up on your own?" He stepped closer, gaze intense.

But she didn't exactly have anywhere to go, so remained still as his hand slid up her arm carefully.

His face loomed nearer while he mumbled, "You really wanted to see what would happen next? You think you're ready for all that because you've been to a few parties and danced with a couple guys?"

Her cockiness vanished when his entire body pressed her on to the cold metal of the vehicle, his other hand landing with a thump near her head, and her folded arms fell apart so her palms fell flat on surface behind her.

She could feel his breath on her neck while he whispered, "And not only are you drunk enough for anyone to mess with you, but you're not dressed very inconspicuously. You think anyone who recognizes the class president is gonna care?"

"I–" she started to say, feeling unsure about this situation.

But then she felt his lips on her neck, the same place someone else's had been not ten minutes ago. Her eyes went wide, mouth fell open in a gasp and body froze so tightly that her muscles started shaking.

_Am I still...drunk? What's going on?_ she thought as his lips stayed in contact the whole time.

One kiss, then gliding to another spot, another kiss, then traveling upward, and another and another – all soft and cautious and as uncertain as she felt.

Then suddenly his lips were at her jaw and then cheek...

Brick pulled back to stare the girl down – who was looking doe-eyed but not saying a word or even frowning. When her mouth finally parted as she gulped down apprehension, he dove in with both hands on the sides of her face and fingers getting caught in her tangled, messy hair.

Blossom's entire face scrunched up at the act: brows coming together, eyes shut firmly, and mouth refusing to move against his. Meanwhile, her hands curled up against the car and the breeze swept through her shirt and made the pants feel extra cold against her skin and–

And she turned her head away after a minute, eyes moist and bottom lip disappearing between teeth.

"Okay. Okay, stop," she said, and then cleared her voice from the raspy-sounding whisper that had just come out. "I get it."

She distinctly heard him utter, "Shit," with a groan and rested his forehead against her temple, hands now sliding back down her form to stop at her elbows.

A moment passed where Brick was taking deep breaths and she was still shivering from the cold and anxiety.

Then he pulled back to stand up straight, moving away so they weren't so pressed together, which made Blossom shudder as her body was re-revealed to the cold air.

"See, there's the difference," he managed to say, not sounding or looking as composed as when he'd dragged her outside in the first place. Blossom wondered if her eyes were deceiving her. "You think most guys are gonna listen when you inevitably change your mind and tell them to stop?"

Suddenly he realized something, and let go completely to take a full two steps back, messing with his hair and cap restlessly. After a moment her eyes went from where his hands were fidgeting back to his face as he continued speaking without looking at her.

"They don't care. You know how many girls just get coaxed on into doing whatever some guy wants? They don't care about you or your leather pants or flimsy shirt. You wanna wake up tomorrow with a headache _and_ in a stranger's house while everyone is whispering behind your back about what you did the night before but never actually telling you what really happened?"

"No," she was mumbling, staring at him in wide-eyed uncertainty.

He looked torn, ready to say more, but then just cleared his throat and motioned to the open car door.

**xoxo**

It was after she'd used his phone to call her friends and assure them she was fine and already safe in bed that he joined her inside. He pulled an unopened water bottle from a pack in the back seat and handed it to her before starting the car.

She managed to mumble her address distractedly, giving half-hearted directions.

Her world wasn't spinning or tilting as much. She was sure she could walk in a straight line. Her brain was functioning properly now. But her skin was still tingling, almost itchy, as the feeling came back.

So it was on this quick car ride home, staring out the window to try and ignore the awkward tension, that Blossom started thinking about everything.

There had been so many people there, and many of them she knew. Not everyone had been drinking or dancing or hooking-up with someone in a corner. Yet they all sat back and watched her dance with two creeps, let her drink more than she should have without question, didn't say a word as Brick dragged her out of the house and to his car on her shaky feet. No one questioned anything.

There was such a big difference between being friendly and actually being friends.

If Brick hadn't stepped in–

If her friends were nowhere to be found–

If that guy had pulled her aside into one of the many rooms in that place, would anyone have done something? Or would all the guys just share silent looks of approval and the girls would glance away to let her become another victim? Was this what high school parties were really like?

Somehow, it _was_ more dramatic than TV showed.

Still, part of her didn't completely believe him. It was too far-fetched to think she would have just gone along with _everything_ some strange guy did or said. Even a little drunk, she wasn't that easy to maneuver. He had to know that by now.

Anyway, there was another conclusion to be made. She obviously wouldn't have cared for some loser pawing at her. But then, she didn't completely like the "nice guy" image either.

Her elbow on the car door jumped when he went over a bump. Her head, still in palm, turned slightly to glance at the driver.

But Brick...was neither, actually.

Her brows drew together slowly, watching his calm expression with eyes focused on the road.

He wasn't a nice guy. But he wouldn't take advantage of her like most. He just... Well, she wasn't sure exactly. He kind of played by his own rules, feeling out the situation and behaved accordingly. He was sometimes a jerk to her, teasing her so she rolled her eyes and walked away. And other times he– He saved her ass.

Blossom scoffed softly to herself.

_I didn't need to be saved. I was just...having fun._

**xoxo**

10-18-12

12:26pm

Ta-da! What do you guys think of chapter four? Crazy shit just went down. I know. Even rereading it myself, I'm all aghast and perplexed and eager to see how it plays out.

Technically I'm not done yet. They haven't gotten together. It's still iffy. I just finished chapter 8 two days ago and have yet to begin chapter 9. If I update twice a week then this story will be complete in five weeks. But after this chapter I'm wondering if we'll just do once a week or maybe feel out the situation and update when the time seems right.

There will be ten chapters total. And then commentary, because there's a lot I've held back from writing in the End Notes. If this changes to more than ten, I will notify you guys.

Special thanks to **Madame Fist**.

If you have any questions or are confused about anything so far then you can always ask me and I will reply accordingly.

Thanks for reading and tell me what you think!

9-20-13

2:51am

Okay, today was supposed to be update day but the site was having problems so for a while I couldn't even log in. I thought about pushing back the update until tomorrow but I'm impatient and I felt it might throw off the not-quite schedule I have vaguely planned. So here you go, and sorry this is going up 7/8 hours later than I hoped.

9-20-13

10:59pm


	5. budding

10-27-12

11:07pm

Summary–Even as class president, soon-to-be valedictorian and all around do-gooder...there are still things Blossom comes to learn just a few months before graduation. One teenage party after another, the influence of her peers, and mocking/scolding looks from her longtime rival has her making up for seemingly lost experiences.

**Disclaimer**–**I do not own The Powerpuff Girls, which is copyright and belongs to its respective owner(s) and is only being used in a fan-made, fictional story.**

**Warning/Disclaimer:** **1-**These kids are in high school and doing illegal things like underage drinking. Don't think that means I'm encouraging any of you to do anything illegal, or that I approve of you doing anything illegal. **2-**Some of the songs I used for inspiration and mention as choices for you to queue up contain explicit lyrics. There's no way around it. I'm not writing PG rated fluff here. So if you can't handle the songs then don't listen to those specific ones – which I will inform you of beforehand.

**xoxo**

**Title**–**blossoming**

**Party 5–budding**

**By**–**Moon Prynces**

**xoxo**

She could feel Mel eyeing her warily as they strolled in. And she could feel Amy's distinct brand of hesitation. But Blossom didn't comment on any of it as she led the three of them inside.

It was still noted that she didn't smile or greet anyone they came upon to chat with. But maybe everyone was used to it by now.

She'd been in a weird mood all week. A lot of people thought she was just being hit with senioritis late. Her friends broached the subject, asked again, threatened to use force, tried to bribe her...and could never get an answer as to what was going on.

Blossom stood with a small group and looked around tiredly.

Except on the inside she was antsy and itchy and there was some feeling underneath her skin that just _wouldn't go away._

She hated it.

The redhead found herself rolling her eyes away at someone gushing about their prom preparations, and folding her arms as the group began reminiscing on the teachers they hadn't even left behind yet.

"Hey Blos, where'd you get that dress anyway?" a girl asked her.

It made her look down (arms still folded petulantly) at the simple red dress. Sure, it had a lower neckline than what she usually wore and there was this fashionable asymmetrical skirt hem, but it wasn't as scandalous as what other girls were wearing.

Well, it _was_ eye-catching and made people admire her figure (the guys) and her style (the girls).

She just shrugged. "Can't remember."

"You look so mature," the girl commented again with a huge smile.

"Sure," Blossom responded, and looked away so the conversation could move on.

It was somewhere between Mel's attempt at keeping an eye on her that she strolled off to see what was going on at this place. This time it was the house of someone she knew: fellow student government member, Greg.

It seemed that most of the party was on the first floor and outside in the backyard, because the house was simple and not as glamorous as the last place she'd been.

She ignored the music and dancing with a slight cringe.

_Oh please, I was just having fun!_ the internal argument started again. _Nothing would have happened that I didn't __**want**__ to happen._

When she finally looked up from her thoughts, she was standing near the stairs where there was an alcove and–

And a couple was _making-out_ without a care!

Blossom was wide-eyed for a few moments before regaining her sense and looking away. Either way, the couple didn't seem to care and no one else was glancing in their direction.

After standing there and casually leaning on the wall for a few minutes, she decided to sate her curiosity and glance over again.

It wasn't even like they were all over each other. Or trying to see who could eat the other's face off first. Or attempting to pull off each other's clothes like some porno. It was...

_Well, how would I know?_ Blossom said to herself irately and glanced away.

Still, she simultaneously couldn't keep herself from peeking a look and wishing she hadn't stumbled upon this scene altogether.

Why was she even still standing there, basically intruding on what should have been something private?

Then again, what did she know about privacy when she had let some guy feel her up and almost undress her in the middle of a crowded room?

This couple obviously didn't care who was watching because they were kind of in the same situation here.

Blossom turned her head to the side and closed her eyes, willing down the feeling that made her twitch irritably.

A deep sigh helped let out some of the frustration and cleared her mind. So she relaxed against the wall, her head tilting back with an inaudible thud.

And it was while she drifted off in some mild meditation that her feelings and thoughts pooled together to form an idea she never would have considered before. Suddenly she knew exactly why she felt like crap the past week, and why she could feel it getting worse in those previous moments of watching this pair.

Her mouth parted in distressed astonishment, eyes still shut – but this time squeezed tightly – and with brows knitting overdramatically.

She could remember...the feeling of lips on her skin. And the tickling that made her squirm, though not truly in discomfort. And the cold chill that crawled down her back at how new and unexpected it all was.

Well, it wasn't like she'd never kissed anyone before!

But...nothing that ever meant much. Or stuck with her. Or that made her care much for the whole experience and want...to...doitagain.

Blossom opened her eyes with a frown and feeling flushed.

_Damnit,_ she thought. _That's been my problem? That I'm,_ she gulped before completing the thought with a very tame word... _hot?_

She made the wise decision to head out to the backyard for that nice spring air that might help...cool her down.

Well, it should have been expected.

...To happen at some point in her life.

She was once again reminded that she'd never had any real experience with guys and relationships and even just kissing someone. Like hardcore kissing – the kind that lasted more than thirty seconds and involved serious tongue and mouth action.

The redhead shuddered as she walked through the doorway and looked around at the plastic chairs and few tables where people were playing cards or beer pong.

It was weird, but any guy she saw and found herself even vaguely..._attracted to_...she suddenly wanted to know what kissing him would be like. It was a completely childish and impulsive curiosity. The urge to, ahem, stick her tongue down someone's throat was...well, _there_.

It also made her avert her eyes and wonder if her face was changing color at these unfamiliar thoughts.

Of course she'd admired the physical features of guys before. And maybe she'd even called someone "hot" or "se–

Nope, never that one, nope.

But, uh, but she'd never had fantasies or daydreams about kissing someone or anything! She just wasn't the type to throw around speculation about guys and physical intimacy and gush over their bodies and–

_Oh god, I __**am**__ a prude,_ she realized with a cringe.

**xoxo**

"Hey, Blossom!" someone called over and made her close her eyes in a slight whine before turning to face the person with a reluctant smile.

And that was how she found her brooding interrupted. She had just been in the middle of a two minute long rant about why she was so boring and why didn't she take relationship risks and what the _hell_ she was supposed to do now that this whole human instinct..._thing_ had been all _awakened_ in her.

"Oh, Greg, hey."

He made the casual move to hug her like they'd done this so many times before – which they hadn't. But Blossom accepted it gracefully all the same, figuring he must be getting all sentimental like everyone else because graduation was approaching.

"I didn't know you lived in this neighborhood," she commented with a look around. "Or that you were the type to throw parties."

He let out a big, bashful smile and looked down at the same time. "Well, I thought...you know, since this is the end of high school..."

Blossom chuckled at his normally boyish behavior. "So I guess it wasn't completely your idea."

"Well, yeah. But as long as I'm not the only one throwing the party it should be fine," he shrugged and motioned to some of his friends by one of the tables. "Anything goes seriously wrong I can kill one of 'em for it."

As they stood around smiling at each other over the current events, Blossom was horrified to find herself wondering what kissing _Greg_ was like.

H-he was one of her good friends! This was ridiculous!

"I haven't even been drinking," she muttered to herself, eyes looking up at the sky in despair.

"What?" he asked back in mild confusion, probably having heard but unsure how to interpret it.

Blossom let out a shuddering breath. "Nothing. Just...bored and stuff."

"Oh, you been here long? Want me to show you around?" he went on, waving a hand with a cup in indication.

She opened her mouth to decline but then looked thoughtful.

She really wanted to kiss someone. And the urge to just press their lips together and see how it felt and just be able to enjoy it like she'd never really done before was eating away at her.

A smile curled her lips. "Sure. Lead the way."

Greg laughed to himself. "Alright, but it's not much." And thus he began the tour. "So this is the backyard. I don't like to brag, but," he winked, "_a lot_ of family parties and barbecues held out here."

She would have laughed a little if it wasn't for the internal debate going on in her head.

_I couldn't possibly... I mean, he's a friend. It'd just ruin our friendship._

They continued on a walk back inside the decently crowded house.

"The house isn't that big, but hey, since I'm an only child it'll all be mine sooner or later," he smiled wryly at her.

_Then again, we'll graduate in just a few months and probably won't see each other at all after that,_ she considered.

"The kitchen was redone like two years ago when my mom was in some phase with butterflies and stuff."

Blossom actually glanced up at his words, noting the cheerful colors and some accents that proved his summary true. "Why would you want to put the idea of bugs anywhere near things that you want to eat?"

He sighed as if he'd wondered the same thing many times before and put a hand on her shoulder forlornly. "Exactly," was all he said.

She shook her head at his dramatics with a small smile.

They navigated around people and came to the open living room and dining room.

"Hey, just let me refill for a sec." And then they made their way to the dining room table laden with alcohol. "You want anything?" he questioned while pouring a clear liquid in his cup. After getting a quick negative, he turned to her and said, "You know, before I even thought about throwing a party, I never thought you'd show up. But then I saw you were out like last weekend or something."

Blossom cringed on the inside. "And how much of me did you see last weekend?" she tried to gauge subtly.

Greg grinned, bringing the cup to his lips. "Enough that I wanted to say you have a very," he began with a joking tone and proceeded to look her up and down obviously, "unique sense of style."

The redhead let out something between a laugh and scoff, relieved.

She glanced around.

Why back down now? After all the past weekends – and the new, sometimes reckless and _illegal_ things she'd tried – why stop now?

If she wanted to do something so badly, she should just go for it.

And while the next line came out of her mouth her eyes found an ugly, old cap somewhere in the other room.

"You haven't shown me what's upstairs," she said calmly, not even looking too interested – which was her trying to implement some kind of flirting, teasing, weird seduction tactic she'd seen on TV and in movies.

The dark, curly-haired head turned slowly to look at her in surprise at what was obviously an insinuation.

As he took the time to process this with raised brows, Blossom could feel herself becoming flushed in another unpleasant way.

Because just looking at Brick irritated her. It was a good thing he hadn't seen her – a surprise considering the _alarming_ red she had on.

This made her reflexively move so she was hidden by a few people standing in the distance between them.

Okay, part of her was angry at him for pulling her away last week like she was some out of control party girl. It wasn't like she had been stripping on top of a table or throwing up in the bathroom! He probably thought he was some kind of _savior_ and that she should be _grateful_.

His unnecessarily dramatic actions and her anger at them were also the reasons she hadn't been able to touch, or even think about, alcohol. _And_ why she was avoiding the dancing and music and bodies swinging carelessly. It was like he'd ruined it for her or something.

The other part of her was...uh, confused. Because if she recalled, Brick had, ahem, stuck his tongue down her throat. And once she got over him trying to prove a point about her reckless behavior, she realized... – there was an internal sigh at admitting the truth – she kind of liked it.

_Maybe,_ she dared to think during that math class on Thursday, he was something more than another classmate she was constantly trying to outdo.

Well, it wasn't like she'd had a chance to talk to him about anything. Between being resentful towards him and totally bewildered, there was absolute awkwardness when they were within five feet of each other. Which was possibly why he was cutting class more often.

"You sure?" a voice broke into her thoughts, and she glanced to Greg who was looking at her skeptically with a half-smile.

Out of the corner of her eye she thought Brick turned his head in their direction and heat just ripped through her skin.

But he hadn't.

So Blossom mustered up her resolve and a quick smile of her own. "Yeah. Why not?"

He couldn't come up with a reason and led the way, still with a dubious expression like this was all a joke.

It might have been because she wasn't paying attention to anything going on around them, but it didn't seem that anyone looked up as they were the only two floating up to the second floor – which was off limits apparently.

He indicated which doors led to his parent's bedroom, the second floor bathroom and the hall closet, but didn't open any of them. Instead he went straight for the main attraction.

"And this would be my room," he said while swinging open the door proudly.

She looked around half-heartedly as he turned and plopped down onto his bed to watch her lazily, placing his cup on the end table with his lamp.

"Blossom, what's up? I mean, I know we haven't talked a lot during your reign as Queen–"

Blossom turned her head to him with a look like she didn't find this amusing (lies).

"–and I don't think I'm that stupid so I'm pretty sure you were sending out the message that you wanted to come up here to do more than look around," he concluded.

She didn't respond right away, standing at his dresser and messing with what looked like a handcrafted hourglass. Then, "What, you've never had a crush on me?" she teased with a grin.

When he said nothing she glanced over her shoulder to see him with raised brows and eyes averted. Her surprise was wiped away quickly.

"This is easy then," she said before stalking over with a triumphant expression and her nerves restless.

**xoxo**

She'd never initiated a kiss before. Ever. The few – okay, _two_ (excluding last week's events) – times it happened it was the guy who'd done so.

But she managed.

Greg looked up as her figure came closer and she climbed over him, hand on his chest to push him into lying down. And instead of going in for the kill, she started the same place it had last weekend: the neck.

(Which was also a lot less intimidating.)

His hands had already found a spot on her waist, not quite encouraging her but not exactly fighting her off.

She wondered if her lips were soft. She wondered if he was falling under the same spell she had. She wondered if she was doing this right because her eyes were closed and she couldn't tell what his reaction was.

When her path finally led to his lips, she pulled back to watch him for a second and saw his quirked brows, still unsure of her and her actions. So she dove in, using whatever experience she had and recalling way too many scenes from movies and TV shows to aid her.

He didn't mind. In fact, he was kind of getting into it, judging by his hand moving up to her hair to brush it back from falling in the way.

What could she say about it? It was exciting – her heart was pumping more blood than usual. And it was different – apparently people kissed differently, seeing as this was the second person she'd kissed in a week.

But it wasn't enough. It wasn't the same and it just wasn't _enough_.

Blossom pulled back, her knees on either side of him.

Something was missing.

What was it?

She was breathing a little harder and so was he and he was looking at her in surprise at her...talents?

Then she saw out of the corner of her eyes: his drink! That had to be it! The feeling was amplified into whatever it was she remembered because she had been drunk or tipsy or _something!_

So she reached over – and Greg must've thought it was just in the heat of the moment – to grab his cup and drink whatever was in it, though it was only half filled.

_Ugh,_ she thought. _Vodka. I think._

She chuckled a bit when they made eye contact after that step was over, and leaned back over him slowly like she knew exactly what she was doing.

It was after...she didn't know how long, that he pushed himself into sitting up with their mouths still attached.

She found her arms had wound tightly around his neck, so they stayed as close as possible, and she figured a good amount of time had passed because she could feel the alcohol whirling around in her head. And his hands also wrapped around her back, reciprocating her gesture so there was no gap between them.

And then she felt things tilting drastically – only to realize he'd just turned them around so she was now lying down on his bed and she didn't even really care that her dress had moved to reveal more of her legs or that there was a hint of hair on his chin that was itchy or that her chest was going to explode with how much work all this making-out really was.

Her senses weren't as dull as her last experience, so she could feel every brush of skin and clothing and the sheets beneath her. But it never felt like enough and she made sure every body part possible was in contact, rubbing against each other so intimately that had she been sober she would be flaming up with embarrassment.

There were a few random, stray thoughts that flitted through every once in a while – glad it was someone she knew and he was a decent person so he wouldn't go starting rumors about her no matter what happened; thank god he wasn't questioning the whole thing, maybe he _still_ liked her a bit?; at least he wasn't trying to peel off her clothes in his excitement – but for the most part there wasn't anything.

His lips moved to her neck, giving the same attention she had to him, and her eyes opened to stare up dazedly at the ceiling while one hand went to his shoulder and the other in his hair that–

Blossom managed to gasp somewhat in her out-of-breath state and eyes glanced down quickly to dark hair that she could have sworn was...

Wasn't it...?

Her eyes shut again, face going from fervent and euphoric to pained and disturbed.

**xoxo**

Someone grabbed her shoulder and tugged her forcefully in their direction.

"Blos– Wh-what're you doing?" Melanie questioned after being interrupted in the midst of conversation.

"I'm leaving," the redhead said emotionlessly.

"Wha–" the poor girl started again, turning away from the group with a quick apologetic look. Then she steered her friend away to talk quietly. "Are you okay? Did something happen?"

Blossom fixed what seemed like a straight face, but there was a hint of a sarcastic smile on her lips. "Nothing happened." Her eyes rolled away to the scene around them with an aggravated sigh. "_Shit_," she whispered so emphatically that Mel jolted.

"What? What's wrong?" she tried again, completely confused as to what the hell was happening.

"Nothing, I'll see you later," Blossom said, moving subtly to try and hide herself.

"I– Okay, just– just call me when you get home, then."

And that was all she could say before Blossom left her to weave between people in an unnecessarily complicated fashion to get to the exit.

**xoxo**

"Hey," he called out just as she started down the block.

She gritted her teeth and bit her lip and realized it was futile because she could either turn around and acknowledge him or have him catch up to her in no time as she was _walking away_.

So she stopped and sighed again before turning around to see Brick closing in on her in a non-menacing way that still unnerved her into a rigid stance and blank face.

He smiled easily, hands going to the pockets of his pants. "What's up? I didn't really see you around all night, so I figured you didn't come out this weekend."

She didn't respond, though her face twitched and brows lifted imperceptibly.

He did catch on though. "Yeah, what was I thinking?" he questioned jokingly.

Blossom willed herself to not glare, instead focusing on his hat.

"I guess you wised up, huh?" he started with a sardonic smile, stepping closer and alarming her.

Sure, she was already unmoving but that was from emotionally shutting down – now she felt frozen in place with a very real chill wrapping around her body. She almost shuddered from it.

He didn't get that close though. Not as close as she remembered.

And he smiled like they were both in on something, as if the words didn't need to be spoken.

Blossom stared back at him, her face taking on slight suspicion instead of the understanding he probably predicted.

His face was a mixture of friendliness and...pride? Was she seeing right?

"Well, at least you're leaving in one piece this time, right? And by yourself."

She could feel herself getting flushed.

Oh, so he was looking at her like he was the teacher and her the student? And she had learned some big life lesson thanks to him? He was all proud and joyful that she followed whatever advice or rule it was he'd taught her last week?

"Oh, shut up, Brick," she said without a care, arms crossing loosely and looking on with slight irritation. "I didn't do 'nothing' to get your praise or approval or whatever this is."

He jerked, taken aback at the reaction.

"I had plans tonight," she said indignantly, slapping away his assumptions. "I mean, not from the beginning – but then, I never walk in knowing what I'm gonna do." She paused to take a deep breath and look him in the eyes directly. "I was looking for someone to make-out with. You know, hooking-up or whatever it is they call it."

He almost laughed out loud at the last line, but was too busy clenching his jaw at her declaration. A moment of tense silence passed before, "Oh? And did you find someone?"

"Yeah, I did! And he was perfect too! Not some complete stranger or a creep, like I'm sure you're thinking right now." After a moment of thought she added bitingly, "I guess there's a reason you didn't see me around."

The two glared at each other.

"But now the opportunity's gone. Thanks a lot."

"You're better off," he responded with.

Her chin lifted arrogantly, looking at him with delicately narrowed eyes. "Yeah? Then how about _you_ replace him," she suggested calmly, her tone much more icy than what she'd used earlier.

Brick sputtered a bit before transitioning into a scoff. "Please. You couldn't handle it."

Blossom stepped closer. "Is that so?" She let her folded arms drop to her sides.

He raised a brow, teeth biting down inside his mouth. She took a deep breath and he couldn't help glancing at her chest, covered in that red fabric.

"Fine," she said, not sounding at all dejected and keeping her gaze steady.

It was after she'd walked away, glaring at nothing the entire time, that he muttered, "Damnit!" and his posture slumped in disappointment.

**xoxo**

She basically stomped her way home – or, well, to the main street to find herself something to eat and forget the entire night.

Because she was still all antsy and itchy and there was that damned...

_It was a person,_ she conceded.

A person who was so far under her skin that she could only imagine her fingers going through his red hair without that stupid cap that was still as vibrant as the dress she had on and at the same time she wanted to choke him so he could feel as tortured as her right now.

_I hate myself,_ she kept thinking.

So the reason she felt..._that way_ for the past week was not just because he'd stirred up these instincts or whatever in her, but also because she wanted to do it again with _him_ specifically?

Why? Why him of all people? Why now? Why couldn't that feeling that she'd had of him being something more just be him turning into some lifelong friend?

It was so unfair. There were so many other guys that were, or could be, interested in her and yet _he_–

Blossom stopped walking to stare up at the "Closed" sign on the only pizza place within three miles.

He just had to be the only one who didn't want anything to do with her. Well, anything other than trying to keep her in line and make fun of her mistakes.

Drinking and dancing could be solitary activities – she didn't need a partner for those things. She could continue going from party to party by herself without a problem. Well, as long as she didn't get herself into too much trouble.

But the point of getting intimate was to do so with another person. And now she had no 'other' person! Because all she could imagine was _one stupid person_ and–

_I like him,_ she realized. _And I almost let him know it._

**xoxo**

**11-1-12**

**6:32am**

Oh my god, guys! More crazy things happened! Feelings happened! XD

I'll tell you the truth: Blossom's kiss with Greg is based on my first kiss. Guy's room, push him onto bed because I'm short and didn't wanna try some b/s tiptoe thing, and just tried to act like I knew what I was doing. So it's not just some far-fetched idea.

So, did you believe the gradual development of feelings? They weren't there from the beginning of the story, which is the usual gimmick for many writers. It saves them the time and energy of having to build it. They just pretend the feelings were always there and the characters either knew it themselves or they come to realize it. I've done that too, but I like if a person can actually create the feelings in the characters as we get to watch. I did that gradually over a decade (in story time) for Legend of Zelda characters Link and Zelda in my story, "Schooled". That was crazy.

Okay, so **Mystery99** asked about the **chapter titles**! Great question, though I hoped it was more obvious... I think when I restarted this story (you'll find out about that later, if you wanna read it) and figured out what direction I was going and knowing that Blossom was going grow (up), I chuckled to myself something like, "Yeah, she's _blossoming!_ Ohahahaha, I crack myself up."

So that easily became the story title. And then it just made sense to follow along the same vein for chapter titles. "Blossom" and "blossoming" automatically make me think of plants, so I did a lot of research about terms and what adding an –ing or –ed to some of the words could make it mean. After a long list of terms and knowing exactly what each meant, I strategically placed certain words with certain chapters based on her development in the chapter. Maybe that connection wasn't all that clear. Should I have added the definition for each word that correlates with her growth so you'd get it?

But long answer short, the story title and chapter titles are all based around Blossom, the plot, and what I saw when looking at her name.

I'm sorry I haven't said this at all thus far, but **thank you for all the support**! I love just hearing what you think about what's happening in the story and how you feel about it and what you think is going to happen next. I myself leave lengthy reviews, because when I decide to do so I'm gushing with emotion and thoughts and need to tell someone (the author) about it. Besides, as a writer you know what it feels like to receive feedback, and the more the better. So you should consider that when you're deciding whether to review or how much you wanna say.

And there's no need to tell me to update soon or anything. I've been pretty good about it for this story. Things might get iffy at the end because I still haven't started chapter 9 yet...but I have my notes and outlines so it'll be fine. Hopefully.

9-23-13

6:10am


	6. weeds

11-3-12

4am

**Playlist: (Listening to any of the recommended music is optional.)**

The songs in **bold **were specifically used as a small plot device, such as having the lyrics integrated in the story. For most songs, especially those not in bold, you can just listen to the chorus to get a sense of what I thought of/listened to while writing the indicated part. If you're going to listen to the songs, might as well do so before even reading (or after) because listening to everything would take longer than reading the chapter and probably throw off your concentration.

**(1) Jupiter Rising – Flip My Switch**

**(2) Kat DeLuna ft. Busta Rhymes – Run the Show **

**(3) MVP ft Stagga Lee – Roc Ya Body 'Mic Check 1, 2' (I would totally recommend watching the music video...if you don't get easily offended by about a hundred bikini-clad women just dancing. =] Also, I'm quite positive there aren't any curses but even I don't know all the lyrics – even though I've listened to this song hundreds of times over almost a decade. Oh, and you should totally watch the version that shows Jasmine Ray dancing from about 2:20 while she's singing. For some reason, as of right now, I can only find that one on dailymotion...)**

**xoxo**

**Title–blossoming**

**Party 6–weeds**

**By–Moon Prynces**

**xoxo**

"Hey Blos, are you home? You weren't in school today so I thought maybe you were out sick but even the attendance office had no idea – like you didn't even call in or anything like you usually do. And then I thought maybe you were too sick to even do that, so I'll call you again when I get out of practice later to make sure things are okay and– Wait. Why aren't you picking up the phone anyway? Where are you? Well, just call me when you get this, 'kay?"

There was a deep sigh before she hung up to let voicemail do its job.

The redhead barely listened to the entire message before tossing her phone onto her bed carelessly.

Then she walked back over to her dresser to continue lining her eyes with a black pencil and dabbing a red color on her lips.

She examined her outfit in the mirror once with a blank expression – taking in the short, white skirt that wrapped around her waist and legs, and the tucked in black tee that was all lace in the back.

For a moment she wasn't sure where she was going, but then grabbed her phone to check that mass text message she'd gotten a few hours ago.

A weird smile overtook her face before she walked out of the room, placing the device on her dresser and instead grabbing that same lipstick to stick in her bra.

**xoxo**

"Hey!"

"Blossom, you made it."

"I love that skirt."

Others who caught her eye merely nodded in greeting.

It was only after she'd passed most of them and was no longer being looked at that she rolled her eyes. She didn't even know some of those people. And most didn't actually care about her. In fact, almost all of them were just checking her out in that, 'Oh, look who it is' kind of way.

She played the usual game of wandering around, taking in her surroundings, and searching for the treasure. And the house wasn't all that packed because it was seemingly early.

There was a loud whistle that made her pause after two more steps and glance over her shoulder into the den where a few people had cups set up on a large fold-out table that had obviously been put in there last minute.

"Hey, we need another player," some guy told her. "You wanna join?"

"Sure," Blossom responded without thought.

"Ever played beer pong* before?" one of the girls asked with a snobbish undertone.

"I guess I know whose team I'm _not_ gonna be on," the redhead said without looking up at her.

A few of the guys 'ooh'ed in that immature way and the girl made a face at her thoughts being called out.

Whatever; she wasn't there to make friends.

"Calm down, ladies," the guy who'd first addressed her said. "My name's Jim."

"Blossom," she inserted in the short pause he made.

"And there's Kathy, Mark, Lizzie, and Cliff," he introduced. "Alright, so for _anyone_ who doesn't know or remember how to play..."

Blossom sighed like she was bored and listened to him explain the rules, which were so simple that it made her glance at smart-ass-Kathy with a snort.

Then she was put on a team with Lizzie, who didn't have an attitude problem but she found out was actually a college sophomore, and Jim, who occasionally smiled at her as if trying to incorporate her into their social circle. After the second time she responded with a half-smile of her own and a raised brow, coming to a decision in her head.

"You wanna go first?" Jim suggested after their team won rock, paper, scissors.

She took the small ball and put some effort into her toss so that it landed in a cup at the opposite end.

"Oh, nice shot!" the blonde female high-fived her out of nowhere. "So who drinks?" Lizzie questioned excitedly.

"Um," Blossom eyed the three, "Mark."

Kathy went for the opposing team and easily made her shot, then sent a veiled smile to Blossom that she took as her cue to drink from the cup.

"Yeah, what a punishment it is," she muttered for anyone to hear.

Jim and Lizzie laughed good-naturedly behind her as she gulped down the liquid.

And so it continued on, getting more difficult as the empty cups were always put back in place as an obstacle to avoid.

After making his first shot Mark looked across the table triumphantly. "So, who should I–"

Blossom rolled her eyes with a quick sigh and grabbed the cup without encouragement. There were surprised looks shared at her bold move, to which she looked at Mark.

And _winked_.

But really, she was getting restless, and this game and the current company weren't enough to keep her entertained for long. She hadn't come out that night to just mingle and play games.

...But no one really needed to know her intentions.

**xoxo**

"Can someone win already?" she groaned into the couch armrest, sitting in a very undignified pose while Liz attempted another shot.

Cliff, who had been mainly quiet the entire time, nodded. "Agreed. I don't even care that we're in the lead."

Kathy smacked his arm while taking the ball from the empty cup it had landed in.

Blossom sat up. "Good, then how about you and I leave everyone to finish this game?"

"Hey, hey. That's not fair," Jim interrupted and made eye contact with his friend.

She realized it was some guy code that he was laying claim over any attempts at hooking-up with her and so didn't say anything else.

Kathy managed to land the ball in their last full cup and made Lizzie chug it.

"Finally," she breathed and took the time to actually look past the room they were in.

It wasn't early anymore. There were people everywhere. Instead of someone DJing there was a nice looking stereo system in the living room with some CDs playing. And Blossom breathed in deeply, standing up carefully from where she'd sat for the past ten minutes. **(1)**

How many cups did she have? Like three or four? Who cared, right?

"So, where are you going now?" Jim asked in her peripheral.

"Why don't you come and find out?" she asked back and started taking steps to the small crowd dancing.

She could practically feel him look to his friends before shrugging at them and following her.

The crowd wasn't as big as she'd seen – less than two dozen people – but she didn't care while slowly easing her way in. A glance over her shoulder showed Jim, who smiled at her, catching up.

She grabbed his hand to pull him closer and then placed it on her hip while she moved to the current song.

He didn't mind the action, just grinned along happily. And he didn't mind that she had closed her eyes most of the time after putting one arm over his shoulder thoughtlessly.

Blossom sunk into the music quickly, detaching herself even further from the real world – as if the three (or was it four?) full cups of beer hadn't done enough of that.

She was so mellowed out that she didn't care about the near perfect lighting that basically put her – and everyone else dancing – on display for the many people standing around talking and watching interestedly. In fact, the couple of times her eyes opened and glanced up while swinging along to the fast-paced song, she was able to see more people making their way into the moving crowd.

And her expression didn't really change from some look of vague concentration at whatever moves she was showing – though she did let her eyes avert to Jim's face to see he hadn't stopped watching her.

It made her smirk quickly, keeping the smug emotion mixed with alcohol to herself, before her other arm looped around his neck suddenly to use as leverage when she pulled herself up to press their lips together.

She could definitely feel his surprise, but then it didn't take long for him to pick up on what she wanted. Because obviously he didn't mind, right?

It commenced them making-out on the "dancefloor", hidden between people and no longer moving as vigorously to the beat.

Blossom breathed out deeply and let go of what had been bothering her the past two days.

And she had completely forgotten it was a Monday night, or that she had skipped school altogether that day. And she didn't need to recall her earlier decision when she received that text message around noon.

Their lips peeled apart smoothly for her to continue grinning at him and then they picked up dancing as the songs came and went.

In-between, every once in a while, and when the mood struck her she would pull his head back down for another string of kisses before they pulled away again to resume moving to the music. After a short while, he got the idea and initiated just as much as she did.

She didn't self-consciously turn her head to see if anyone was looking, or try to suggest they head somewhere more private. There was no chance of someone she actually knew seeing her.

And she didn't care if they did.

**xoxo**

Jim was no more. She'd casually told him she'd see him around and then ditched him after maybe an hour of dancing and..._dancing_. He was probably left confused – ahem, _hot_ – and staring at the lace patterns on the back of her shirt as she'd traipsed away.

Even with her mind (and steps) a little off-balance, she knew he wouldn't be the one to keep her occupied _all_ night. Though he was a decent kisser – and she knew because she was suddenly becoming a good judge at that – he was just so..._something_.

Blossom grabbed a cliché big, red cup and began filling it halfway with a random bottle, seeing as they all looked the same anyway.

She leaned back against the free space on a wall while sipping away slowly at her drink.

And there was no need to resist her reaction to what it tasted like because the cup hid her grimace while eyes peered through the rooms carefully.

It was after ten minutes, with her back and legs aching from all the dancing and now standing around, that she made eye contact with a good-looking guy who was sitting at the bottom of the stairs with elbows on his knees effortlessly.

She raised a brow briefly before her eyes looked back down to the liquid in her cup as she gently shook it.

Less than a minute later she felt a presence in front of her and her lips twitched at how easy it was to find a replacement.

So she lifted her head up to tilt it back and gulp down everything left in the cup, letting her eyes widen in surprise at the dark-haired figure standing before her patiently.

He was even better looking up close, and it made her a touch self-conscious of her faded lipstick and whatever her hair looked like.

"Hey," he started with a head nod in acknowledgement.

"Hi," she said, biting the rim of her cup in a way that made him glance at it quickly. "You know, I just need to look in a mirror real quick. Do you mind?" And she held out the cup to him with a smile.

Completely-sober Blossom would never have pulled off such a cheeky line while talking to an attractive stranger.

Good thing she wasn't completely sober.

He kind of scoff-laughed at her like he couldn't quite believe this. But then he went, "Sure."

"Good. I'll be in the bathroom."

"Oh yeah, it's like right down there," he pointed over his shoulder to a hallway that eventually led to the kitchen.

She glanced back after spotting a door against the wall to see his eyes had never actually left her. "Thanks."

When the door shut behind her she pulled the only item she had from her bra to reapply while staring into the bathroom mirror. Then a hand moved to try and make sense of the part in her hair. And she examined her white skirt to make sure there weren't any embarrassing stains on it.

Another song started up that she could hear through the door. **(2)** It made her pause a moment, brows coming together at her suddenly eager-to-please behavior.

Or maybe it was that she could feel her herself getting antsy – and maybe a touch desperate – like something taking over her system in that same w–

There was this light tap at the door that she would've thought was just someone passing by and bumping into it...until she opened it to see that same hot guy leaning against the doorframe attractively with this half-grin and eyes downcast. Down by his hip a hand held her now-filled cup by the rim.

It was good timing – stopped her from thinking too much.

Blossom smiled, waiting until he looked at her.

"So," he started, only to be cut off by the redhead grabbing his shirt and pulling him inside the bathroom with a devious expression.

It had to be one of the better decisions she'd ever made.

The cup was placed on the sink and then the meeting of mouths was instantaneous.

His hands went to mess up what she'd done to her hair and hers were making wrinkles in that nice shirt of his. His back hit the wall next to the closed door and there was the sound of something soft falling to the floor in their haste.

But neither cared.

Then his hands traveled downward. He took the opportunity to steer her and dropped the lid of the toilet seat before sitting down himself and urging her onto his lap.

She was glad this place was so clean – seemed no one had had a chance to lose their lunch yet. Then again, her head was getting cloudy and her insides right out to her skin were tingly and sitting down was so much more appealing than trying to stay upright and ohman did he know what he was doing – not just another pretty face.

But maybe he was thinking the same thing about her.

Her lips parted as his moved down to her neck and his hands landed on parts of her thigh that were now exposed thanks to the skirt sliding up at her straddling the poor boy.

Her hands gripped his shoulders while she gasped stupidly at his actions.

She spotted the red cup, vaguely thinking of how the same color must be smeared weirdly across her mouth and his. After a moment she reached over to grab it – causing the unnamed boy to glance at her – and took a big gulp.

He'd done the nicer thing of mixing something alcoholic with orange juice so it wasn't as bad – but then it wasn't as strong. Still, seeing as she'd had a good amount of something before this rendezvous, her senses were dulling by the moment so she didn't even care.

Then she hooked a finger under his chin and brought her mouth back to his for another round.

She could still hear the song through the walls between their breathing and frenzied motions and the smacking of lips against each other.

What she couldn't hear, and was glad for it, were her thoughts.

**xoxo**

She wasn't quite sure how long passed with them making-out, though that inspirational song had long since ended. And it might have been the alcohol, but it was pretty amazing this time.

Yeah, it might've been the alcohol...

Her shirt had been untucked at some point, and thus his hands had more contact with her bare skin. She hadn't made any similar attempt at unbuttoning his shirt though, but maybe because it hadn't even occurred to her.

It was when they pulled apart for a breather, his hand on her back underneath the lace and just an inch below her bra that she sighed mentally with her insides buzzing uncontrollably and vision a little spotty.

Whatshisname watched as she slowly slid off of him and stood on her wobbly legs – which had to be appropriately covered by fixing her skirt.

He leaned back casually and watched as the girl before him went about grabbing a tissue to wipe off her wayward makeup and drank from the forgotten cup.

When she deemed herself put back together, except for tucking in the shirt again, Blossom turned to him with a grin.

"I'll see you around," she told him.

His brows drew together in confusion as she opened the door and left before he could give his name or even get hers.

Blossom didn't bother looking around at anyone who could catch her leaving the bathroom just moments before some random guy, and with both of them looking disheveled too.

She felt herself walking a little quicker than she meant. It was like her feet were stumbling over the momentum of trying to get away from the situation.

...Or maybe it was whatever she had been drinking.

She paused just before the back door.

Where the hell was she going? Home? To mull over things she wished she didn't even know?

Her face shifted back into neutral and she turned towards the inside of the house.

There were definitely a lot of people she knew from school around, but no one she cared to talk to.

So she carefully – still avoiding all eye contact – walked to a table with various bottles and spotted the kind she'd grabbed before.

Maybe it wasn't a good idea. Hadn't she made enough bad decisions today? And she was also still dealing with the effects of all the other things she'd had to drink.

Blossom lifted her head to glance around at people talking and drinking and laughing.

And then – she wasn't sure if she was losing her mind, though it was entirely likely – she saw a familiar face disappear somewhere in the other room.

It made her blink hard with a disturbed expression, grip the bottle in hand tightly, and wipe away at her eyes harshly with the other.

She stared in that direction for a few minutes, but the event didn't repeat itself.

_Why the hell not?_ her mind said vaguely while pouring.

**xoxo**

She had somehow found her way back to the living room to dance. And the cup she had filled completely before was now almost empty, though she still held on to it while swaying drunkenly to the music.

There was a scrape on her leg from hurriedly walking past a table corner that she was too numb to notice and her mind was in that blank, detached state – had been for who knows how long.

Someone came up behind her and a voice said in her ear, "Hey, Blossom. You looked kinda lonely."

Her eyes popped open – then had to blink a couple times to adjust – and some emotion was injected into her veins, waking her up enough to hastily check the face over her shoulder.

But it wasn't him.

Another song started that put it to the back of her mind again. **(3)** Blossom sighed tiredly and began rocking her hips and shoulders to the beat, letting it take over her body so that she instinctively moved without thinking.

The guy still behind her – some classmate, probably – put his hands on her hips while doing the same and keeping his body close to hers.

It was such a familiar scene. And the stray thought made her breath hitch abruptly, with that same pull of someone trying to wake her up.

But she fought it. Hard. Like threw herself into the song to move purposefully and turning around to her dance partner so his hands were no longer holding her back from doing what she wanted.

Her hands slowly lifted up through air in gentle movements with the music, one clutching the cup that was quickly becoming a nuisance. And she rolled and popped her hips and shoulders in ways she would have been embarrassed at a month prior.

The guy before her grinned, matching her moves but with less enthusiasm.

Blossom reflected his (slightly wicked) expression back at him.

He didn't even try to touch her unnecessarily. Weirdly, it looked like he was trying to impress her with his, um, _skills_.

It made her look down subtly, as if concentrating on the song and dancing but really just not wanting to giggle – because she wasn't sure she could stop herself if she started.

When he put a hand back on her hip and she didn't brush him off, she could feel rather than hear an irritating voice scold her disapprovingly.

She put a hand on his shoulder, partly to keep herself from slipping on any sloppy motions she made. Her other hand that still held her cup brought it to her lips to polish off the last of it, her taste buds hardly noticing the bitterness anymore.

She moved from swallowing the liquid to pressing her mouth against this unknown guy's so quickly that she basically toppled into him and almost didn't realize she'd glimpsed that _thing_ that had still been bothering her all night.

Either way, her brain didn't fully process what she'd seen and the entire situation until a few minutes later.

But by then she had added another person to her list of attempted distractions – someone who was working very hard to fulfill that unknowing title while she just gave in, barely participating as much as she had in the previous pursuits.

**xoxo**

What the hell was she doing?

She knew better, damnit!

But Brick could only stand there to stare in shock and outrage.

And not just at what he was witnessing, but also from remembering the reaction he'd gotten the last time he'd run in to rescue her.

She obviously didn't want it. She didn't want someone to pull her out of her own mess. She didn't even care that she was in one – seeing as she'd knowingly come back to this situation again.

Maybe it was time he left her alone for good. Why waste his energy, right? The last thing he wanted was to once again make Blossom the focal point of his life and identity and–

_Just leave her,_ he thought and turned away from the scene.

Slowly though, his eyes shifted back in that general direction and struggled to find her between people.

Well, sure he wasn't going to do anything but that didn't mean he couldn't look. Which he probably shouldn't be doing either, actually...

He stared hard – almost in a glare – as she danced with some unknown guy and pressed up against him like she actually knew him and then proceeded to _holyshit what was she doing?_

His eyes popped open as the redhead started making out quite confidently with whoever that was.

This was a completely new development that he never would have seen coming.

Even worse, he found his head tilting to follow them as the crowd seemingly pulled them in further and away from his vision.

He saw her pull back and continue moving hypnotically to the song – the entire thing seeming so natural to her like she'd done this every weekend for years.

It made him grit his teeth angrily at how casual and callous she looked.

**xoxo**

What had she been thinking about before? Her mind tried to remember something from just a few minutes ago that had been nagging at her.

But then all worries were always shrugged off with the beat of music and stuffy atmosphere and anesthetized feeling (or lack of).

It went on like that for a few more songs before someone angrily stopped the CD in the middle of a track and caused an uproar in the room. The sudden, not-so-melodic sounds crashed into her ears and she cringed while opening her eyes irritably.

Blossom looked around while the once moving mass of bodies was broken down into some still complaining, others leaving the room and most just taking the opportunity to strike up a quick conversation with their friends before the music could be restarted.

And while looking around in confusion at the scene, her cloud-filled mind spotted the red-haired boy watching her intently.

She unwittingly made some strange expression while wondering what he was doing.

Why hadn't he come over to "rescue" her and stuff?

The two stared each other down until another song picked up and slowly people began dancing.

Blossom's eyes widened and she jolted, remembering something important. It made her slip her arm out of her dance partner's grip and strut (or stumble) her way over to Brick hurriedly, looking excited.

"Brick!" she greeted with a giant grin that would normally look fake, especially given who she was addressing.

"Blos–"

Abruptly, she had grabbed both his hands in hers in some weird way that had nearby teens glancing over in slight interest.

"I have to tell you something," she interrupted with a hushed but energized whisper. After a short but noticeable buildup, "I like you."

It wasn't low enough, and so other voices picked up to discuss this event transpiring – though most were just wondering what the garbled words she'd said were.

And then she reached up to throw her arms around his neck and connect their mouths, leaving Brick with eyes still open in astonishment and face becoming pale.

Now there was an interaction the onlookers could easily interpret.

She pulled back just barely to begin chattering, arms still loosely around him.

"I don't even know why I didn't just say it before," she started babbling clumsily. "Like, why'm I keepin' it a secret? I just wasted all that time try'na to replace you with other guys after you said– you said that...you..."

Her face changed quicker than her tone, going from happy drunk to that slap in the face, 'oh yeah, I remember now' look.

Brows moved to create wrinkles of realization, eyes dropped to the ground in thought, lips still parted from cutting off her verbalizing of thoughts...

It was so sad to watch.

Which was luckily overshadowed by the next event where Brick had no choice but to intervene.

**xoxo**

**11-10-12**

**2:00am**

I don't know what to tell you... I mean, this second half of the story gets _deep_. Like deeper than you would've thought. This is where things happen – not just with the characters or plot – but with my writing, to indicate certain changes with the story. But maybe you'll understand that better with that long-winded commentary to come...

So, how do you like the music? Seriously, does anyone out there like music this much or what? Did you watch the video? Can you dance like that? Man, I wish I could. Not solely for the sexual aspect, more for the sensuality and just the being able to move your body that way.

And don't feel too bad for Blossom. I mean, yeah, I'd feel horrified for her as well, but she wanted to put herself in that situation. So, why can't a person (or character) have some free will?

*Never played beer pong but from what I understand, and the research I've done, there are a lot of variations to how it's played.

Man, it doesn't matter how many times I reread these chapters before posting them – I'll still find something small to change or edit. Move this sentence from the paragraph or add a comma there or maybe the dash or take out some words or _something_.

**Anyway, thanks for reading and **_**tell me what you think or I won't update til Christmas and that'll be your present! And I don't just mean the usual suspects either!**_

=]

9-27-13

3:58pm


	7. prune

11-11-12

1:10am

Summary–Even as class president, soon-to-be valedictorian and all around do-gooder...there are still things Blossom comes to learn just a few months before graduation. One teenage party after another, the influence of her peers, and mocking/scolding looks from her longtime rival has her making up for seemingly lost experiences.

**Disclaimer**–**I do not own The Powerpuff Girls, which is copyright and belongs to its respective owner(s) and is only being used in a fan-made, fictional story.**

**xoxo**

**Title–blossoming**

**(After) Party 7–prune**

**By–Moon Prynces**

**xoxo**

Eyes popped open abruptly, but then closed again lazily. It felt like the need for sleep was never-ending.

So she rolled over and fell right back under the spell.

**xoxo**

She became conscious before her eyes opened this time. And her whole body was sluggish and a bit achy – nothing wanted to move.

It was why she spent a few minutes just laying there, motionless and without thought.

Then there was an unexpected cough that made her eyes open during the fit.

_Oh. Oh, thank god,_ her mind sighed while a hand remained at her chest.

It was Mel's room, with white walls covered by a few posters, picture frames and various pieces of big furniture.

For a moment she wondered why everything hurt and why she was so tired...before remembering some of the previous night.

Hands moved to swipe at her eyes, waking her up even further. Then there was the sound of someone nearby shifting so she turned to it with knuckles still rubbing at her face.

"Mel," her unused voice managed to say lowly. "How'd you even–"

Blossom shot up in shock, holding the blanket defensively in front of her like all girls did in the movies after a night of debauchery. Her eyes darted around to confirm she had been right in the setting but it wasn't one of her friends sitting casually on the floor next to the bed and glancing up at her.

Her breathing started to pick up and she was close to having an aneurysm.

"Wh-what're you doing here?"

Brick stared unblinkingly for a moment and she thought he must either be spacing out or she was actually still asleep and dreaming this entire encounter.

Then he blinked once and said, "Sorry. Melanie had to go out for a sec." Pause. "Maybe you wanna...go use the bathroom? Take a shower or something?"

She stared back with a disturbed expression. And then embarrassment crept up as she tilted her head down to cover half her face with a hand. "Right, right."

He glanced away while she jumped up as quick as possible – which wasn't quick at all – and made her way to the attached bathroom Melanie had to herself on weak legs.

"Augh, I feel like I threw up or something," she moaned, voice still quieter than normal.

"Twice, actually," he said behind her.

She avoided looking back to the doorway where Brick stood and grabbed the unopened toothbrush waiting on the counter for her to use. The mirror revealed her hair looking the normal slept-in mess with a pale, tired face. And she was still in her black shirt but now there was a pair of shorts on instead of that white – was it even still white? – skirt she'd left the house in yesterday.

"Doesn't she have school?" Blossom muttered to herself.

Of course Brick spoke up with, "Don't you?"

She proceeded to drown herself in the sink while washing her face.

"Just take a shower already," he said once more before closing the door and leaving her alone.

The redhead looked back to the mirror and sighed.

**xoxo**

"Why are you here?" she asked immediately upon opening the door and walking out to find some clothes to wear.

Neither reacted to her going through the drawers in just a towel – Blossom was too tired, and it wasn't the first thing on Brick's mind either.

But also, he tried to avoid looking in her general direction.

He snorted. "What a nice thank you."

She winced while pulling out a shirt and their school's baggy sweatpants. "Then I guess I know how I got here."

He was now spinning around in the swivel chair by Mel's desk. "What? Thought I'd drag you back to my house or drop you home like that?"

_Like what?_ she wanted to ask, but headed back to the bathroom to get dressed. 

She cleared her throat after stepping out this time, looking self-conscious as she sat down at the edge of Mel's bed. "Thanks," she started. "I don't know what I remember. Half of it seems like a dream and..."

Brick brought his attention from gazing up at the ceiling mindlessly to the girl a few feet away. The entire chair shifted in that direction to further unnerve her. Then he raised a single brow patiently, not saying a word.

She wanted to frown at him. He must've known how awkward and anxious she felt.

"So why are you here? You couldn't wait until later for me to tell you how grateful I am or something?"

She wouldn't admit this out loud but... Well, it was kinda weird to see him outside the school, or a school-event type setting – if that's what one could call an irresponsible teenage party. Had they ever actually seen each other outside class before this past month?

Blossom pondered the weird feeling curiously in those short moments.

Then again, they had come a long way from just arrogantly competing over academics and having aloof arguments between (or during) class.

"We should talk."

The words stunned her into tense muscles and blank face. It was one of those mood-killing phrases.

"Look, I wasn't going to try and have a conversation while you were drunk. You do want to remember what happens this time, right?"

His sarcastic tone had her making some mocking face right back at him and rolling her eyes. "I was just trying to have fun," she mumbled indignantly.

"No, you weren't."

Blossom stared at him a moment before her eyes slid downward.

_Not like I'm gonna admit I was going out of my way to get rid of the urge to stick my tongue down__** his**__ throat._ "What do you want? What is there to talk about?"

"Okay," he started, and began wheeling the chair closer. "This isn't an intervention...but your friends are kind of worried about you."

Her arms folded. "Then why are _you_ the one talking to me?"

"Because–" He stopped, either having no answer or choosing not to give one. "Shut up and just listen."

Blossom couldn't help grinning through her irritation.

He continued on, staring her down as their knees accidentally bumped into each other. "Seriously, what are you doing? I thought you understood it already."

"Understood what?" she questioned thoughtlessly and rubbed at her knee.

"That night we saw each other an–"

"Wait," she interrupted. "Are we talking about the night you molested me or the night you offended me multiple times in five minutes?"

Brick did this slow intake of breath and deep sigh, like he was trying not to reach over and choke her. Blossom, on the other hand, was pressing her lips down hard to fight smiling or laughing at herself.

Under his breath he suddenly mumbled, "Though maybe I should have known you didn't get it. You weren't leaving that party early because you had sense, and you were rambling about finding someone to _hook-up_ with."

Which she tried to ignore entirely, except that it made fighting a grin harder.

Be serious? She was sitting on her best friend's bed in said friend's clothes with her hair still wet from a shower after a night of shedidn'tevenknowwhat while her once-rival was trying to address her "drinking problem". What the hell was going on? She was too tired from _everything_ to concentrate on _anything_.

It was why she planted her hands behind her on the bed and leaned back on them while lazily glancing around the room.

Then his voice picked up with, "Look, sure, partying's great and all that. And it can be your...'thing' just like student government and volleyball, but...it doesn't have to be _all _of who you are. Right?" And he looked at her earnestly. "You don't want to spend every night dodging unwanted attention from guys and drinking away stress. It doesn't actually do anything for you. You just wander around all lost and wasting your time."

_That's what he meant?_ she thought, recalling his words from last week – i.e. the night he offended her multiple times.

Her realization was followed by a scoff, eyeing a pile of clothes instead of him. "Really? It sure seems to be _your_ thing. Ditching school and slacking off... Who do you think you're lecturing? What, you're my mentor now or something?" Her expression remained detached and wandering.

Which meant she didn't see him get angry with her response.

"It's _not_," he denied through gritted teeth. "I don't go around being all reckless and _stupid_ like some people. At least I know my limits."

"Hey! This is all your fault!" And she sat up straight to glare. "I wouldn't have cared or thought about doing any of this if you hadn't opened your big mouth on that first night! What is your deal with making me feel inadequate? Like I'm pathetic compared to you?" She lifted a foot to place on the edge of his chair, right between his legs, and made to push it away. "You think you're the only one here who can like this stuff? That I can't handle it?"

But he grabbed her leg before she could and she was so glad to have on pants that had her covered – now was not the time to have on some girly short-shorts that revealed _everything_.

"Me? Making _you_ feel inadequate?" He let out a single 'ha!' of disbelief. "What have you been doing to me for the past _four_ _years_? You think you get to be angry over a few nights of embarrassment – that were all your own doing, by the way – when I had to deal with years of humiliation?"

Her mouth opened, brows crinkling tightly in confusion. "I didn't–"

"Who's the one here that seemed to have their life all figured out, hm? Meanwhile I was stupidly wasting my time trying to catch up to you. _That_ was pathetic. Instead of being Brick: amazing swim team captain or Brick, that hot guy girls want to date–"

Her lips twitched, wanting to grin at his persistent cockiness even in the midst of admitting his...pathetic-ness.

"–I was always just Brick: Blossom's rival. You know how tired I got of being defined as _Blossom's rival,_ and my grades? Who the hell cares?"

_I cared,_ she thought in sudden embarrassment. _I cared about grades too._

Well, at least now she knew.

He resented her.

He stared her down, still clutching her ankle. "It's like I was never actually the one in control of my life. I was ruled by you and our stupid competition. I started hating school altogether by last year – been slacking off since then. But most people didn't seem to notice. Did you?" he asked with a stony look that made her feel guilty and unable to even shake her head no.

Sure, she saw the changes in him after they bumped into each other multiple times at parties and noticed when he actually began cutting class but...before that?

No, she was ashamed to admit. She hadn't given him much thought unless they were in direct conflict in some way.

Then he let go and she pulled her leg back to wrap an arm around protectively like he'd been about to rip it off. And suddenly he was sighing and looking at the ceiling like a kid reluctant to speak to her – right down to his tone of voice.

"But...I'm sorry about snapping at you that one time you were leaving. And that first party when I mocked you."

Blossom revisited those memories – her first two parties – quickly with an internal cringe.

Monotonously he continued with, "I guess it was like...you were coming in to ruin something I might have enjoyed a little. And I was tired of always seeing _Blossom_ pop up and pull me into some drama."

She raised a brow that he didn't see.

Brick looked back to her again heatedly. "I mean, don't you have your perfect life and perfect personality with perfect future all set up? What are you even do–"

"I was– I was proving you wrong!" And she knew this sounded ridiculous, but it was all she could say.

"What a good job you did there," he leaned forward with arms on legs. "You just always have to turn it into some kind of competition – have to go above and beyond, don't you?" he mocked with a look that she hated from their many fights over grades and extra-curriculars and anything school-related. "Doesn't matter if it's knocking me out of the race for student government or partying just because of a few comments."

Maybe he was right. Maybe she did immerse herself a bit too much in parties and drinking and being a "stereotypical" teenager just to prove something to him.

Or maybe...she just wanted to prove something to herself.

And _maybe_ she kind of got lost in it. (Reckless was his word...)

"I thought this was an intervention?" she asked with disdain after being dragged back into their usual type of conversation, i.e. bickering.

"Yeah?"

"Well, none of my friends are assholes so rethink your words."

Brick leaned back in the chair with an appraising look at her familiar attitude. "That's something," he was nodding to himself. "I mean, this is the guy you were flirting with before dragging off to dance."

"I-I was drunk!"

"Babe, I've seen you drunk."

"Damnit," she glanced away a moment. "Still, I was slightly intoxicated." And Blossom grabbed his ever-present hat with a vague look of interest, stood up and then tossed it in some unknown direction without looking away from him – in fact adding a lifted brow to the equation.

Brick stood up as well, and with a deep breath – probably trying not to kill her because this was nowhere near the, ahem, almostflirting they did the last time she touched his precious hat.

He headed to the door where it had conveniently landed and picked it up to secure on his head. "This is my cue to leave, huh?"

Blossom's arms folded, watching defiantly.

And he continued to fiddle with his hat unnecessarily, seeming deep in thought before coming to some decision.

"You know," he started way too casually. "You told me you liked me."

"What?"

"Mmhmm."

"I..." _I can't remember,_ she thought, mind working furiously. "I wouldn't have..." she mumbled, troubled eyes searching the floor.

Or...would she?

She was right in the beginning. Alcohol did free you up a bit – got a person, someone as "uptight" as her, to shed their inhibitions. It let her do things she normally would have been too embarrassed to try had she been completely sober. Things that she now knew she _could_ do sober.

Dancing. Kissing someone. Wearing these more daring outfits she actually liked without shame. Even admitting to herself that she had a crush on some guy she shouldn't...

But it went further than the good things. It made her brash and a little too shameless and (this time she cringed) reckless.

"That was so..." she paused, trying to control her breathing and fight off a panic attack.

"Brave?" he guessed, glancing over his shoulder.

Yeah right.

Alcohol didn't give a person real courage to do any of those things – it just made you care less about the consequences in those drunken moments. And in her case, she went straight to numb and not wanting to really feel anything at all. Not even another– an _actual_ rejection from him.

"_Stupid!_" she gasped, both hands going to the sides of her face in mortification.

So, she managed to idiotically confess.

She winced while asking, "Would it be possible to ask you to forget it ever happened?"

He turned around completely, letting go of the doorknob. And smirked.

She practically deflated in defeat.

The agonizing silence went on as his brows kept lifting higher, and it raised with it her heart rate and the likelihood of passing out from fear and suspense.

Finally, he rolled his eyes decidedly and face relaxed into something far less sinister.

"Why would I want to? Maybe I like you too."

Her mouth opened, hands removed themselves from her face and eyes widened at this unexpected turn.

Then he cursed, made some quick expression and of course he went back to opening the door to leave her with that line.

"Then go out with me!" she shouted in frustration, almost slapping a hand over her mouth and regretting this impulsive move. This time there was no alcohol, and she could only blame her stupidity.

Or was that courage?

"It's not that simple," he said, once again turning back to her and looking the same. "We're gonna graduate soon. We're heading off to different schools and everything. It's pointless to start dating all of a sudden, even with two months of summer."

It was basically the same thing she'd thought not-even two weeks ago.

"But–" Blossom turned angry. "Then what was the point in knowing? Why'd you even tell me?" she yelled.

"Because it...just seemed fair for you to know."

Still, he shifted uneasily like even he had no idea why he admitted it.

"Bullshit. You could have just kept it to yourself if you knew nothing could ever happen."

His eyes went wide at her use of language.

She stared him down, eyes narrowing slightly while regarding him. "You didn't really want to admit it out loud," she started slowly. "You hate the idea. You're just as irritated as I am about liking you!" she realized, features no longer scrunched up irritably.

Brick made a face. "Thanks."

"Oh bite it. You don't see me crying a river." Then, under her breath there was, "Drinking myself numb and making-out with a bunch of guys, yes."

"What?" he questioned, brows wrinkling and having leaned closer to catch her words. But by the look on his face, he'd heard most of it.

A few moments passed with her glaring – because that would surely convince him – and him biting down his teeth, looking torn with some internal struggle.

"You hate that you like me," she finally concluded.

His mouth opened to argue with her claim, though he didn't know why.

"And I'm not exactly pleased about my feelings either," she mumbled for him to hear.

He abruptly spoke – and loudly so that she was startled at first.

"You're an idiot," Brick told her vehemently. His face scrunched up again, almost twitching in conflict. But then he must've decided something (yet again) and said more calmly than before, "Well, if we both don't want these feelings then it'd be better if we didn't do anything about them."

There wasn't time to say much else before he threw open the door and ran out of there.

She could feel it. Something was different. Or maybe a couple of things.

They had both changed so much from just being competitive classmates at school. Not only could they not get along before, but they were so used to snobbishly ignoring each other as well. If she had tripped or if he'd dropped something on the floor...they both would have continued on their way without blinking – sometimes with a mean remark.

And then suddenly she was teasing him flirtatiously and he was rescuing her from stupid situations. How did that even happen? Just because she decided to participate in normal (somewhat popular), teenage social events – dropped in on a few parties and had a drink? (Well, okay more than that.)

They weren't friends now, but it was close enough.

He saw her fresh out the shower and she was groping his hat. How much more intimate could this get?

She spent the next minute staring at the open door until Mel came darting through it worriedly.

"What happened? Did he do anything to you? Oh god, Blos, I'm so sorry!" she said while walking in further and looking around as if there'd be strewn furniture and items in some struggle. "I mean, he said he had to talk to you about yesterday and – you know he was the one who dragged your butt here, right? – so I told him he'd have to wake you up first and I was waiting downstairs for him to finish already but maybe I should have come earlier to check in?"

And then it sunk in.

This was as far as any relationship between them would get.

He was right.

It figured that the one time she found herself liking a guy for real – though this was the weirdest way to start a crush on someone, with four years of almost hating each other – it had no chance.

Maybe she was better off at home, sticking with her books and working hard and...

...

_Yeah_ _right_.

Going out that one night each week and even doing the reckless, stupid things she had was always exhilarating and full of surprises and _fun_. This was what being a kid– a _teen_ was all about, right? It's the last time you have to be irresponsible and foolish before everyone expects you to be serious and make all the right choices.

She had wasted all that precious time being serious. So what if she caught up quickly and as ungracefully as possible? So what if she stumbled (sometimes with the help of alcohol) into all these situations later than most other people?

She didn't regret it.

_Any_ of it.

**xoxo**

11-16-12

2:00am

Dude... Woah. I just reread and got all teary-eyed at the end. Maybe that's because of what's happening as I'm currently writing chapter 9...

Anyway, what'd you think? There is still so much going on that will be revealed. I mean, when I said last chapter turns the story around...it really does.

I keep hearing you guys are on the edge of your seat. Be careful! XD Seriously, sometimes I would just give up, stand up and keep reading whatever it was out loud with all the dramatic facial expressions and hand gestures and slight pacing.

I find it pretty amazing that people keep saying how they relate to the story and what's going on. I guess I didn't really consider that. It seemed more like a character study combined with social/psychological experiment.

So, anyone else wanna share their own experiences?

Thanks for all the support and tell me what you think!

10-3-13

3:43am


	8. flowers

11-29-12

9-5-13

3:01am

Summary–Even as class president, soon-to-be valedictorian and all around do-gooder...there are still things Blossom comes to learn just a few months before graduation. One teenage party after another, the influence of her peers, and mocking/scolding looks from her longtime rival has her making up for seemingly lost experiences.

**Disclaimer**–**I do not own The Powerpuff Girls, which is copyright and belongs to its respective owner(s) and is only being used in a fan-made, fictional story.**

**xoxo**

**Title–blossoming**

**Where the Party (8) at–flowers**

**By–Moon Prynces**

**xoxo**

She sat down heavily in her usual seat and let her eyes roam the tabletop as the other members settled in and began speaking.

On any normal day she would have been ten minutes early, taken out her planner and the notebook specified for SG along with two pens, and begin taking notes as soon as someone uttered a word. On a normal day she would have kept scribbling down bits of information as she looked up to contribute to the discussion and make eye contact with her peers. On a normal day she would have been doing all this while simultaneously flipping through her planner to any dates mentioned and announce all reminders she came across.

But this wasn't a normal day. And she wasn't the normal Blossom everyone had come to know anymore.

Instead she let her eyes glaze over while staring tiredly at the wooden surface as chatter continued on in the background.

"What do you think, Blos? Too much?" someone questioned.

It forced the redhead to tilt her head up and blink stupidly at her fellow SG members.

"I, uh, think it's...just right..." she tried weakly, attempting a more focused look that instead came off as a cringe.

A few of them exchanged looks, mainly of concern and nothing really offensive from what she could see.

Thank god.

Sure, there weren't extravagant rumors circulating about her – maybe because only a small number of her classmates partied on a Monday night – but she knew they probably heard something. Of course, after seeing what she was capable of for so long, way before becoming president, her fellow SG members knew her better than most and wouldn't buy into any stories so easily.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, and then sighed. "I'm just tired."

_Of everything_, she added quietly.

"Don't worry about it," Anna chimed in with a wry smile. "We all are. And the warm weather's not helping. It just makes me wanna sleep, like, all day." And she turned to the whole group to continue with, "You know I had this whole elaborate dream that we'd finished the year and gone to prom and graduation and everything, so I thought it was summer break already and almost slept in."

The conversation veered off-topic even further, and left Blossom with her own thoughts.

Why were they still trying to discuss petty, high school problems when more than half of the room's occupants were seniors? How could anyone expect her to care about anything school-related when graduation was inching its way closer? She wanted to just throw her books in a corner of her room to be forgotten.

In fact, she wouldn't mind sleeping in every day until she had to put on the cap and gown.

But she had responsibilities. And okay, it wasn't everyone else's problem – it was all her. She was the one who changed. She couldn't expect everyone else to get it and work around her.

And slacking off had never really been her thing. Sure, a little procrastination here and there, but now she could barely roll out of bed in the morning, nevermind care about what the prom committee was wasting money on or try to sign anyone's yearbook or hyping up the upcoming festivities.

Just keeping up appearances was tiring now.

Blossom stood up lazily, garnering attention. "I'm really sorry," she smiled apologetically. "I don't think I'll be of any use. Just...take care of everything without me, yeah?"

There were nods and assurances – her soldiers so loyal – so she passed her planner and notebook off to someone before leaving the room.

Her reign was basically over, right? Maybe it was just time to move on.

**xoxo**

"What the hell are you doing? I thought you had calc," one of her best friends said helpfully with a confused stare.

"Nothing," she responded too quickly. Another discreet glance up and down the hallway with wide eyes said otherwise.

"_Who_ are you looking for?" Amy questioned, letting her eyes move around them.

Her mouth opened, but after a moment she let out a heavy sigh.

"I'm just, you know, tired of school. Can't we...like, cut? Or something?" Blossom asked weakly.

The shorter girl grinned and shook her head, still shifting things around in her locker. "I would love to, actually. But I still have tests to study for. You know, some of us aren't super-geniuses."

She nodded absently, biting her lip and casually eyeing any movement in her vision.

"Don't you need anything from your locker?" And Amy eyed the open door a few down from her own, which Blossom stood in front of.

"Oh. Yeah. Of course."

And then she proceeded to reach in and pull her hand out to reveal it holding a single pen in a fist-filled grip, like she was afraid of dropping the thing.

Amy stared, baffled, and barely lifted a brow. "That's it?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, it's the end of the year and ya know, it..."

She trailed off without a proper defense, then shrugged and shut her locker loudly.

Her friend looked down at the two books in her own arms. "Right..." Turning back to her locker, she muttered, "Didn't we agree I was the neurotic one?"

The now-named "neurotic one" zoned out on whatever else the blonde had to say. Instead she twitchily stood nearby and kept looking up abruptly in an obviously paranoid fashion.

"...and I'll see you later," was said with a wave and then Ames was walking away.

Blossom barely had time to respond before employing middle school stealth tactics while heading to her next class.

She ducked behind large crowds, unnecessarily wove in-between people in her path, and tried to hunch down the entire trip so as to seem inconspicuous.

All this might have been fruitful...if she didn't have the kind of hair one could see from space.

And then with relief she slid into her usual seat in class.

_A class she shared with the person she was trying to avoid!_

_I'm an idiot,_ she thought angrily to herself.

Did she want to see him? Sure. He wasn't too bad to look at.

Did she want _him_ to see _her_? Oh hell no.

All she could imagine was him looking at her pityingly, thinking she was still in turmoil over their last few encounters.

Okay, well that was true.

But _he_ didn't need to know that!

She really wanted to know what exactly she'd said to him that night. But she wasn't going to ask anybody, nor did anyone (especially Brick) seem to want to indulge her.

And maybe it was better she didn't remember it all. She could just be ignorant of the entire event and pretend to be uninterested in anyone who ever, _ever_ brought it up. Just act like it wasn't a big deal and they'd get bored of teasing her and move on.

Blossom glanced around once more before the teacher started the lesson and she was suddenly very aware she had no notebook. So she was compelled to be one of _those_ students.

"Hey, can I get a piece of paper?" she whispered to the person in front of her.

The guy turned back with an annoyed look, which quickly morphed to surprise at who he was looking at.

"Uh, sure," he mumbled below the teacher's radar.

Another look around proved he wasn't in class. Yet.

She'd been lucky the past few days. Either he was skipping school – or at the very least the classes he shared with her – or he slipped in last minute when she wasn't paying attention to sit in the back and then left before the bell even rang. The former was more likely.

It was hard, she acknowledged while half-heartedly scribbling down a few words from the board.

She wasn't sure how to behave around him with everything that had happened and all that they'd said. She had never been in this position. She used to roll her eyes at girls fretting over guys and their relationships and how they seemed to make everything more complicated than it needed to be.

She couldn't remember the last time she'd had an awkward encounter – save for her recent escapades. But that's how she felt about him and their...situation.

It made the back of her neck grow warm and heart pump faster just thinking about it.

Especially when part of her wanted to scowl and punch him when she remembered his not-forgotten arrogance and some of the insulting words they'd exchanged.

Seriously, _why_ did she like?

After a minute the redhead realized she was glaring down at her poorly taken notes.

_I hate him,_ she thought fiercely.

And somehow, it was true.

Another minute later she gave up on paying attention in class altogether in order to mindlessly doodle while working out her..._feelings_.

But really...why did she hate him again? In fact, how could she hate him while claiming to have a crush at the same time? Was that even possible?

...Did she really hate him?

Maybe not...in the beginning?

All she'd ever known was their rivalry – smart remarks and (un)consciously competing with each other. After a while it just felt like the most natural thing, like that was just the kind of relationship they were meant to have.

In fact, it wasn't until he started that supposed knight in shining armor bit that she began to resent him. That, and his mocking her lack of experience of partying with her peers.

Except now she kind of understood why he reacted that way when she'd first shown up to one. He was just being weirdly territorial, like he'd said.

But all that aside – even if none of those things had ever happened – what really made her insides churn, what made her unable to swallow a sudden lump in throat, what almost had her tearing up in the middle of calculus...was remembering how she felt that night after she'd made-ou– _a few more bad decisions_, ahem, and he'd basically rejected her without any real consideration.

Okay, so maybe neither of them realized the gravity of that angry, taunting conversation until after it was over. And sure, now she knew that he felt the same way. But that didn't take away the fact that she had had the experience. Suddenly she understood why girls cried for days (well, maybe not that extreme) after finding out some guy didn't like them.

It was a feeling worse than getting a score way below what she thought she'd achieve on a test. It hurt so much more than finding out only a few dozen people showed up to the dance she'd meticulously helped plan. It was...

_...so immature,_ she admitted as depression descended over her desk.

It was exactly the kind of thing so many other girls went through. What made her think she was so special to have avoided it? What made her think she could have gotten him to say yes? How could she have not realized in that moment that she had been putting herself out there when she asked him to _replace the person she'd been making-out with?_

And it was with mixed feelings that Blossom realized she was just the same as any other girl her age.

She hated him for that first unknowing rejection.

It was immature and stupid and so self-centered to only be considering her own feelings and not the other person's or even looking at the bigger picture that was their relationship up to that point but... For just a little while she wanted to hate him and be angry and sad and upset over what had happened that night and how it drove her to do even more insanely stupid things to forget about him.

_W-wait...did I really,_ she asked herself with furrowed brows, _let myself get unknowingly manipulated by someone? Did I really do all that because of __**him**__?_

Her eyes went wide and hand slipped to accidentally scratch a long line across the page.

Because it suddenly made some sort of sense.

She hated him for what he did to her – what these feelings made her do.

And even more, she hated herself for liking him at all – liking someone so impossible to be with.

**xoxo**

She sat up so quickly there was that momentary head rush before the dream came back to her.

Which then of course had her looking down self-consciously to check she was dressed.

Yup. There was that old tank top she should really throw away already and – she lifted the blankets up – her ridiculously short shorts.

Blossom let out a breath and slowly slid back into bed.

There wasn't any need to get up; it was Saturday.

Unfortunately, this knowledge made her cringe and roll over in an attempt to fall back asleep.

She had already spent last night (also known as Friday) sitting on her hands and trying not to think about all the fun– _debauchery and recklessness_ going on at places she should no longer want to attend.

But she kind of did. Just a little.

Is this what everyone else felt like after they'd had a bad night? Just forget about it come next weekend and go back out there?

Because as she'd sat on her floor the previous night, trying so very hard to reread one of her favorite books, she found herself downplaying the entire incident from Monday. It hadn't even been a week and yet she still wanted to get up, put on some pretty clothes and go out for the night just to see what everyone else was up to.

And maybe have a drink. And probably dance. And maybe even run int–

_No,_ she told herself firmly and got out of bed.

So she spent the first half of her day on autopilot: brushing her teeth and washing her face, sorting laundry, cleaning around the house, deciding what meal she'd make for dinner because it was her turn, and generally keeping her mind void of any real contemplative thoughts.

It was only after she had finished vacuuming her room and the lasagna was cooling on the counter and the sun began descending slowly, that she sat down tiredly on her floor to then find herself flat on her back and looking up at the ceiling tinged just barely with pink.

Of course she wasn't going to go out tonight. Sure, there was time to get ready and she was a little tempted...

But then, with her still unmade bed nearby, she remembered the dream that scared her into a reality check.

_It was just a dream,_ she reassured herself. _It was just...a dream,_ she faltered. _It was just–_

Eyes closed and she was pulled back into the setting of a large, crowded room. She was making her way through to...get somewhere, she didn't really know. And every time people in her immediate field of vision saw her coming, they moved out of the way while giving their full attention to very obviously gossip about her. Except she couldn't hear anything they said, even when it seemed they were laughing quite loudly while eyeing her snobbishly.

But she continued on her way for a while, and there didn't seem to be an end to the crowd or the room. Until she finally glanced down to realize she wasn't _wearing a thing!_

Even just the memory of the dream had Blossom jumping up from the floor, feeling uncomfortable and checking herself again.

"So paranoid," she muttered and moved to her desk to reorganize things that didn't need to be reorganized.

Instead she just sat down and spaced off even further.

_What did that even mean?_

Then all at once it was so clear. As clear as the vodka she'd been downing like she had any idea what she could and couldn't handle.

She didn't have to remember what she'd done that night to know that she'd been making a spectacle of herself. And not just that one night but the few before as well.

Everything she'd done was just her caving to the peer pressure she thought she was above. Even as she'd walked in each time thinking she was the one in control of the situation, that wasn't completely true.

She wasn't just another girl with a crush – she was just another teenager altogether.

Blossom half-heartedly tried to shuffle together papers with dates going back to the beginning of the year, when her notes were neat and precise and all she worried about was getting into the perfect university while taking on her new job as president and keeping up her grades.

Somehow though, she'd let herself fall willingly into the trap of being a cliché high school girl making bad decisions for _everyone to witness_.

It made her burn with shame, hands going still and face taking on an alarmed expression. A hand moved to her chest to fight off a panic attack as she realized just how awful this entire experience was.

Why hadn't she been freaking out before!

_Oh my god. Oh my god! How many people saw all that?_ she wondered frantically.

The other hand went up to her forehead as she worked to control her breathing with wide eyes.

_Wait,_ she added after a few long moments. _It doesn't matter. The school year's gonna be over soon._

Which was true. It meant she was lucky her stupidity streak wasn't drawn out over the year, or longer, for people to gossip about. And thus, they wouldn't remember all the details, or any of the incidents, given a few months.

Right?

Teenagers had bad memories, right?

No one would remember her disappearing into a bathroom with that guy. No one would think anything of her drunkenly dancing and making-out with someone. No one would care that she had thrown herself at Brick and ki–

_OH MY GOD,_ her thoughts yelled at her as the memory slipped back in.

"Why now?" she moaned, putting her head down into her arms on the desk. "Why did I have to remember now? Why not five years from now? Or even just on my first day of college when I'm sitting down in a class and there's some other redheaded kid and it makes me think back and BAM I just won't be able to focus the rest of the lesson? Now I'll just have to remember this every time I see his stupid, stupid face!"

Her hysterically whispered rambling ended with a whine that one would think came from an animal and knuckles knocking the side of her head three times, one for each of the final three words she'd spoken.

None of this would have happened if she hadn't put herself out there and into these situations!

...Or maybe that particular night wouldn't have happened if he hadn't kept coming to her rescue all the time, simultaneously disapproving of her less-than-controlled actions but still trying to help her every time she stumbled.

It was both irritating...and somewhat comforting – she grudgingly admitted.

He'd seen her at some low points she never thought she'd reach. From what their relationship had been, she would've expected him to be a jerk about it all.

Well, technically he was still a bit of a jerk, but he wasn't as judgmental as her friends or peers. Now that she thought of it...it was actually pretty decent of him to not tell her the details of that night.

Maybe he knew how worse off she'd be with the knowledge.

...Maybe he'd done the same things already. Maybe...he was still going through them right now.

It was all too much for the redhead to take in.

So she trudged over to her bed and pulled the blankets back over her head.

**xoxo**

"Where have you been? I didn't hear from you all weekend," was spoken nonchalantly.

Blossom refrained from rolling her eyes so far they'd fall out of her head.

"So?" she settled for asking casually while rummaging through her locker.

Mel paused, seeming worried. "Nothing," she responded with. "Just wondered what you were up to."

"What, thought I'd have gone out and gotten _smashed_ or whatever?" she asked jokingly.

A tense silence passed and she stopped moving to stare blankly into her storage space.

"Don't worry so much," she finally turned to say with the usual Blossom smile. "I'll see you later."

And Mel had no choice but to agree and watch her leave.

Since when did she need her friends to hover over her shoulders? Did she suddenly need their permission to go out? And did she have to recount all the details from her past misadventures just so they could look at her like she was an alien?

Well, okay, maybe they were a bit worried – she wasn't a child, she could understand that much.

But it was just...something. It was just so _something_.

Blossom stalked down the hall so fast her no-longer-ponytail-bound hair bounced with her, and with her mind so wrapped up she didn't notice much else going on.

**xoxo**

The rest of the day dragged on in a way she'd never felt before.

She went from class to class but couldn't find herself focusing on anything being taught or discussed. She couldn't find it in herself to glance around nervously for Brick's red cap. And she had avoided her friends as best she could, unable to figure out what her problem with them was exactly. She was tired and restless all at once.

She just wanted the day to be over.

Maybe it was just because it was a Monday.

Maybe it was that whole senioritis thing.

Maybe it was because it was the end of the year in general.

Is this what her peers felt like? Was this normal?

_Doesn't even matter anymore,_ she thought lazily with chin in palm while staring blankly at the board during her final class of the day.

She leaned back and stretched carelessly, not minding any eyes that blinked in her direction.

Really, none of it mattered.

Blossom sighed and put her head down on the desk, unable to fight the fatigue.

She started to recall some of that last conversation almost a week ago. Seemed he was on to something.

School and grades were meaningless at this point and...maybe altogether. Maybe she did put too much emphasis on these things. They could only get her so far in life, right?

What would she be without them after graduating college or grad school or whatever path she chose?

_Nothing._

She couldn't go through the rest of life being super-student Blossom. Grades weren't going to help her social life. Being so terribly responsible wasn't going to let her experience all that she could. Staying inside the lines and keeping herself poised and in-control all the time wouldn't make any guy fall for her.

Her head rolled sideways on the desk to stare tiredly at her classmates.

In fact, she learned more from her recent exploits than in the classroom. Things that they don't really teach you in school – or maybe she hadn't been paying attention, being so busy with extra-curriculars and studying and all that.

She finally began to see who her classmates really were. She actually understood her peers better now. She was starting to figure out who she was, and who she wanted to be.

Partying and being reckless shouldn't have been something she needed to do to get these life lessons. But she was naïve and stupid and just trying to catch up to everyone else – fast.

Class ended and she realized she still had another meeting with her fellow student government members.

But she walked in with a genuine smile, though slow gait. And before they sat down and got to business she casually asked about their own preparations for prom and graduation and life after high school.

They were things she'd heard in passing before, and hadn't really paid attention to. But now she realized she had the time to listen. And she wanted to.

She learned more about people than she realized she needed to know.

And there was still always more.

**xoxo**

"I feel like you haven't been as busy as you normally are..." Amy muttered in thought.

Blossom shrugged. "Well, it is the end of the year – the end of _high school_."

Mel let her eyes flit up at the two momentarily but her hand didn't stop writing.

"Didn't you have to do something with a meeting and people? Or something?" Amy continued while waving around her half-finished ice cream bar.

This time the redhead ignored her words altogether in favor of checking the clock to see how much time was left.

There was quiet for a moment that allowed Mel to continue working on her last minute lab paper while the other two kept eating.

"Oh! I like that whole look you're going for!" Amy started up again and nodded to Blossom's jacket.

"Me too," Blossom replied smartly, still focusing on her own ice cream in hand.

"Yeah, where'd you get it?" Mel questioned, glancing up again. "Is it real leather?"

The redhead scoffed with a smile. "Course not. And I just...had it lying around," she answered vaguely.

Ames laughed. "And what? You've been hiding it or something?"

"What? Why would I?" Blos questioned in the same joking tone.

"Nothing. It just looks a little odd on you." And the blonde squinted her eyes and twisted her mouth thoughtfully while gazing at the ensemble.

Blossom looked away blankly, pondering this and that weird feeling she was getting again.

"Ah, looks like your admirer is back," was sung happily.

"Huh?" she questioned, broken from her thoughts.

"You know, Brick." And Ames nodded her head to the other end of the cafeteria somewhere behind Blossom.

It caused the girl to stiffen in surprise and refuse to turn around. Instead her brows came together in confusion while asking, "What do you mean 'admirer'?"

A hand was waved around carelessly, now holding onto the licked-clean popsicle stick. "He's just been around, giving you weird looks and stuff. You know, practically since you got back last week. I'm surprised you haven't noticed it."

"You mean he's been in _school?_" her voice asked loudly in shock.

Even Mel paused from her work to look up curiously and watch the redhead's unexpected reaction.

Blossom could feel herself burning up and hoped she wasn't changing color. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she imagined him glaring at her, or worse...looking on indifferently.

"Is he still there?" she continued distractedly.

"Probably not," the blonde responded, just barely glancing over the other's shoulder to check. "He usually skitters away after being noticed."

There was a pause as Amy looked back to her friend, waiting for the utterance of "loser" or something similar.

But nothing came except for the shrill sound of the bell, indicative of the period's end, and forcing Blossom to jump up with her friends as they separated again for the day.

**xoxo**

She bid them a casual goodbye, seeming as normal as possible. And she might've gotten away with it if...well, _everything_ about that situation wasn't wrong.

But maybe they would just brush it off as her still being jumpy with Brick's mention because of what had happened last week.

_Damnit,_ she thought while taking long, quick strides down the hall.

Now she knew for sure; he'd been in school every day since last Monday's debacle and Tuesday's "intervention". How in the world had she missed him? It was impossible! His hair was like the lights on a landing strip.

Blossom's mood turned irritable, and for the first time she was scowling openly at nothing while walking into class. It caused some heads to turn.

That or they were getting a glimpse of the short, teal dress swishing around her legs that she didn't care to minimize.

_Jerk,_ she told herself.

He wasn't just intentionally avoiding her; he was avoiding having _her_ see _him._ Now wasn't that a weird turnaround.

Meanwhile he was stalking her at the same time. Way to play fair.

Her teeth clenched as the lesson started, not bothering to remember she didn't even have a pen this time around so her desk was devoid of use.

_Why the hell do I like this idiot?_ she fumed. _Why? Why why why,_ her thoughts demanded.

Well, at least she wasn't feeling awkward and embarrassed anymore. And she'd momentarily forgotten all rational conclusions made last week about him.

Even after everything they'd ever said or done to each other, she still didn't know what he was thinking. Even after having observed him so often before, she couldn't predict his moves. Even after all this time..._she couldn't recognize his stupid hat in the crowd?_

She couldn't help her emotional mind from thinking back to the days where he'd slip into class last minute just to sit as far away as possible from her.

But then, she did lock him out of the chem lab that one time they both had to take a make-up test...

Wait, he was the one who mocked her English Lit assignment so ridiculously that even the teacher chuckled!

Or maybe that was just because she'd broken his record in gym for the rock climbing wall.

_Whatever,_ she rolled her eyes. What was she talking about again?

There were so many – _stupid_, _small_ – incidents and episodes and–

She sighed heavily.

There was just this long, built-up history they had. Complete with a code of conduct on how to interact with each other. Every irritation they put each other through had become so normal – so routine.

If you just took out the part where they were trying to kill each other – metaphorically – then it would almost seem they knew everything about the other.

Classmates nearby heard the soft gasp she let out, and some even glanced over skeptically to see a slightly surprised expression adorning the redhead's face.

_We know each other,_ she thought, almost as if this was somehow news to her. _We have history, _she continued in awe.

Maybe... Maybe part of the reason she liked him was because of that. Because he was someone she already knew, someone she was familiar with, and someone who knew her.

It's not like these feelings would just have been the natural progression of their relationship.

If things hadn't happened the way they had the past few weeks, would she have been okay to graduate without any other thought of closure to their rivalry?

Probably.

Would it ever have gotten to this point if she hadn't turned to partying?

Probably not.

Blossom turned her head down, biting her lip and trying not to let her feelings show for anyone to witness.

And it wasn't like she fell for him every time he ran in to save her – because honestly he wasn't some overly-sweet and sensitive person.

She scoffed at the very idea.

He was just as human as she was, and they were both doing the same thing and making the same mistakes for so long and then they both started to break out of that shell of a life – one after the other.

She liked him because after everything they'd been through (on their own) and their torturous affair, they now had some kind of..._understanding_ between them. It was something she didn't have with any other person, not even her supposed best friends.

All the poking and prodding each other combined with a few specific looks (and okay, a kiss or two) built their relationship up to a new plateau – something romantic, or maybe just sexual tension or whatever it was, she didn't really know all the terms to these things because hey, she was so damn new at it and–

She _liked_ him for what he did for her, as well as _to_ her.

It didn't make any sense. Hadn't she said the exact opposite just last week? How could she hate and like him for basically the same reasons – albeit obviously applied differently.

These feelings controlled her in ways she'd never experienced before, and it was the worst thing she could imagine.

She hated him for liking him at all, and the power that it unknowingly gave him. But she liked him because he was there for her and good for her in ways she never would have known if it had been someone else.

"Oh god, I think I have a headache," she moaned and leaned forward to rest said forehead in her hand.

The teacher looked up to her normally perfect student at the not-quiet-enough admission, but didn't respond to it.

**xoxo**

Heads looked up at the arrival, watching the other girl go straight for her locker.

Amy and Melanie looked to each other carefully. It was only the beginning of the day, so it just didn't seem possible that the redhead could be in a weird mood already.

"What's up?" Mel asked slowly while closing her locker.

Blossom just shrugged, "Nothing. Why?"

But from where they stood, it didn't seem that way.

And it wasn't just her tired, almost lazy posture. Or that she dumped her bag into her locker without a thought to pull out one slim notebook and a pen. Or that she was standing there in a pair of shorts that showcased more of her legs than anyone had seen in a decade while a strap of her tank top carelessly slid off her shoulder.

"Are you ever gonna tell us what happened last week?"

"Amy!" the other hissed as Blossom's head turned suddenly to look at them.

"What?" the shorter girl asked back irritably. "It's been over a week!"

Mel looked back and forth between Amy's resolute expression to Blossom's blank face before sighing in defeat.

"Look," she started again and looked back to the redhead. "You've just been acting so out of it lately. Especially after what happened last week."

The dark-haired girl nearby nodded imperceptibly.

Encouraged by this, she continued on with, "You're cutting class, you're shirking SG duties, and you're dressing...differently. And," her voice lowered, mindful of classmates all around the hall getting on with their own start to the day, "There are some weird things being said about you. I mean, I don't believe in gossip so easily but there is some truth to it. You're getting drunk at parties and passing out in the arms of whoever's around. And that happened to be Brick who had the good sense to drop you off at Mel's!"

Blossom didn't move, her head still twisted to face them from the beginning of the unexpected lecture.

"You're Blossom! You're not supposed to behave this way!"

"What?" she finally breathed out quickly in astonishment, eyes wide.

A moment of tense silence passed, meanwhile everything around them kept in motion as no one seemed to have overheard or even noticed the confrontation taking place.

"Yo-you think something's wrong with me?" she asked, still in shock and barely able to form the words. And she looked to Melanie for an answer on this, as Ames had spoken her piece.

Mel didn't look around frantically. She met the redhead's eyes with a slightly apologetic expression while saying, "You just don't seem like you anymore. That's all."

Blossom blinked and let her eyes flicker around the three of them as it sunk in.

And that weird feeling, that off sensation that she'd been getting whenever they brought up anything related to these events or her personality shift, bubbled up again.

They didn't see this as the real Blossom. They didn't think this was who she was. They didn't think this was who she _could_ be.

"Right," she responded softly while closing her locker and looking off thoughtfully. "Thanks for telling me...how you feel," she told them choppily. "I'll see you guys...later."

And then she walked off with an unhurried stride and head in the clouds.

It wasn't until Amy had finished rummaging through her own locker that one of them spoke.

Mel glanced up sharply at the corner Blossom had turned a minute ago. "Isn't her class in the other direction?"

**xoxo**

Of course she didn't head to class. She was too busy thinking and letting her legs keep up the steady, methodical movement.

She even bumped into three doorframes and stumbled on the curb as she headed back outside and down the block and right back into her house with the spare key kept nearby, seeing as she'd left her bag in school.

They... They thought...she was a loose cannon or out of control or something!

"It was bound to happen, right?" she asked herself and looked up at the empty house around her.

They may have been her friends, but maybe that's what made it harder. They knew her to be something and someone else entirely. Her routine and predictability and controlled behavior with minor quirks was who they were trying to help – trying to _save_.

But that wasn't the truth of it. She was just growing up and changing and not being the same predictable Blossom they were all used to.

"It doesn't really matter," she was telling herself while dropping the pen and book onto the coffee table. "This is just high school. This _is_ just the beginning," she continued, through the house and to the kitchen.

She opened the fridge door and stared inside.

After a full minute she finally reached in, and whispered, "Maybe we won't even be friends after we graduate."

_Maybe,_ her thoughts picked up, _the me they were friends with, the person they expected to not hang around such crowds and situations, isn't who I am anymore. Maybe we're too different now and incapable of being friends._

She couldn't force them to accept whatever had happened to her. She couldn't explain to them who she was. She couldn't show them how things were better now and it all made more sense to her and...

They wouldn't get it yet. They still thought Blossom was perfect and Ames was the quirky one and Melanie was the soft-spoken mediator, and that was just how things were.

Explaining otherwise would just seem...wrong.

She couldn't say she thought grades were kind of a waste of time. They would think something terrible had happened. She couldn't tell them that Brick wasn't such a bad person. They would wonder what he'd done to her. She couldn't bring up her newfound interest in parties and dancing and alcohol. They would assume she'd lost her mind.

Because the Blossom they knew would never have turned over a new, completely different leaf so easily.

That feeling every time she'd been questioned about her recent adventures or what she was doing to herself had seemed like annoyance at first.

But, she realized, it was more like fear.

Afraid of her best friends. Afraid of how they were now looking at her differently. Afraid of them just abandoning her because she wasn't the same person anymore. Afraid to actually say what she'd been doing and thinking and feeling these past couple weekends. Afraid she wouldn't actually have anyone to talk to about anything in the future when it was all over and she _wanted_ to tell someone about it.

She pulled back out of the fridge and closed it mindlessly.

Was this how it was supposed to be? That in order to gain something, like clarity of her life and herself, she had to lose something?

**xoxo**

She didn't go back to school the next day in what might be classified as beachwear. And she did make sure to bring at least a pen and notebook to all her classes – it wasn't even June yet, what had she been thinking?

But she didn't take charge of all SG meetings with her usual gusto, and she could hardly fix the vague smiles she put up when necessary.

She wasn't sure exactly how to address her last revelation and respond to her friends' concern.

Which was why _they_ brought it up first.

"I'm sorry."

The redhead looked up from her yogurt to Amy, who had spoken with an anxious expression.

"You know, for what I said the other day."

Blossom attempted a scoff-laugh. "You think I'm upset over that? It was, like, two days ago. You really think I've been moping around or something?"

"You kind of _have_ been moping around or something," Mel pointed out helpfully with a small smile.

"It's not that," she admitted, glancing down with a smile of her own. "It's–"

What would she say? How could she explain?

In the time she spent thinking it over with the two waiting patiently, the bell rung.

"Come on, I need to get something from my locker," Mel offered, giving her more time to think.

She trailed behind them, eyebrows wrinkled and biting on her lower lip in thought. She followed Amy to lean casually against the nearby lockers as everyone else kept moving.

"It–" she tried to start again. "It's not what you think," Blossom finally sighed and her friends glanced over to pay attention as she'd found her voice.

"But it's something, right?" Amy commented. "I mean, you've been weirdly subdued the past two days."

"Look, I understand why you guys are worried. You think– Well, I just get it. But the truth is you don't have to worry about what you're worried about. There's nothing _wrong_ with me – just different. And if you guys can stop fretting over however different I seem now, then we can crawl our way to graduation and it'll be fine!" she finished in a flurry, progressing from anxious rambling to excited cheering, going so far as to pump a fist in the air with it.

Amy's eyes slowly narrowed. Then she very slightly leaned closer to Mel and whispered, "Did you get that?"

Mel blinked a few more times than necessary. "Um...sure..."

"So basically you're saying nothing's wrong," Ames confirmed, looking back and forth between Melanie and Blossom with an accepting though possibly-still-confused expression.

"Right!" Blos laughed. "Exactly!"

And without even giving it all away, it felt like she'd cleared the air. At least a little.

And hey, maybe she was wrong. Maybe they _would_ still be friends after this year was over. And if they weren't...starting over wasn't so hard, right? It was something she could do with or without liquid courage.

Melanie mentioned something that had the other two laughing happily, and it was in that brief moment that Blossom glanced up, still smiling and chuckling to herself, to notice him standing in a doorway just a little ways down the hall.

It was now clear why she hadn't been able to find him in the crowd the past week: he didn't have on his typical red cap. Instead there was a dark hoodie that covered up his hair and hid his figure, looking much like a shadow.

She couldn't look away, her face slowly losing its good humor to take on a detached uncertainty.

But then he stopped leaning on the doorway and took off down the hall and she smiled again, laughing softly to herself.

"Blossom? You okay?" a voice broke in.

"Of course."

Ames exchanged a look with Mel once more. "You don't reall–"

"I gotta get to class. I'll see you guys later," she cut in with a small upward tilt of the lips. "Don't worry," she called over her shoulder while walking away. "It's all good!"

He was right, she thought once again, still with her almost-smile.

It didn't make sense that she yelled at him to go out with her. Sure, they may have liked each other but they also kind of hated each other too. It was a storm of emotions and way too complicated for any romantic relationship.

How would it even work? Would they go from making-out to wrestling violently over what to eat? One minute they'd be glaring over equations and the next she'd playfully grab his hat while he grinned at her flirtatious look?

Even if they both wanted to try...there just wasn't enough time to make it work. If this had happened earlier in the year they could've tried it and fixed all the kinks and they'd be prepared for the separation that was college.

He was _so_ right.

And, she glared suddenly, she _hated_ him for it.

**xoxo**

"What? Why?" she questioned into the phone.

"Well, you know, just to hang out."

"We can hang out at my house. Or get something to eat. Why would I–"

"Come on, you haven't been wanting to go out and p–"

"_No!_" she replied quickly and emphatically.

There was a sigh. "Sure you do. And, I mean..." she paused. "We're sorry about everything that's happened until now. And just...wanna take you out. There's still a lot of time to get ready," she encouraged.

"I can't. I promised I would–"

"Don't lie, Blos. I know you've got nothing planned. You said so yourself just yesterday."

There was silence as she didn't respond right away.

"It's Saturday! You don't have anything going on, and I know you want to go but you think we're still holding last Monday over your head or something. We're not! Look, if anything...this can just be your last one. Okay?"

"But I–" Blossom stopped herself and sat down heavily on her bed.

"We'll be there at eight, so if you don't get yourself ready then we'll go ahead and doll you up ourselves."

"Right," she rolled her eyes. "Okay, I'll be ready."

"Good. You won't regret it," Amy said happily. "I think," she added with a hint of doubt.

**xoxo**

9-18-13

4:24am

Well guys, that is something. This chapter took us back to the "real world" that we haven't actually seen in this story. So we get a glimpse of what happens in the normal _day_ part of Blossom's everyday life. There's also the whole aftermath of her poor decisions up to this point. I mean, last chapter ended on a note like she was fine with it all but there's always more to it than that.

I know this chapter was very long (longest so far), but there were just a lot of points to be made. So what did you think? Was it too long, boring and/or unnecessary for you guys?

And, anyone know the song I was thinking of with that chapter title? ;-)

Also, I have no idea when I'll get chapter 9 done. Still working on it. Hopefully I can finish and refine it by my selected update day, but who knows. Maybe you won't hear from me til Halloween. Maybe I'll put it off and procrastinate just to torture you all. We'll see!

Thanks for reading and your support thus far!

10-8-13

2:23am


	9. pollination

9-30-13

3:30am

Summary–Even as class president, soon-to-be valedictorian and all around do-gooder...there are still things Blossom comes to learn just a few months before graduation. One teenage party after another, the influence of her peers, and mocking/scolding looks from her longtime rival has her making up for seemingly lost experiences.

**Disclaimer**–**I do not own The Powerpuff Girls, which is copyright and belongs to its respective owner(s) and is only being used in a fan-made, fictional story.**

**xoxo**

**Title–blossoming**

**Party (9) on Our Own–pollination**

**By–Moon Prynces**

**xoxo**

A few people nearby noticed his unwavering gaze directed at the front door. And maybe someone would've asked what was up with him if he didn't suddenly shift from leaning against the wall to standing up straight and glancing around.

Brick turned in time to see classmates avert their gaze from eyeing him strangely.

Well, yeah, he did look a bit strange just standing in this corner and waiting. But this was the only vantage point he'd come upon that allowed him to see the arrivals without being immediately seen himself.

Still, what he was waiting for, didn't happen – and hadn't happened in the past half hour he'd been standing around unblinkingly like some kind of predator.

No wonder people were getting creeped out. Between the motionless posture and intense stare, he would've inched away from such a person a while ago.

So the redheaded boy sighed anxiously and ran a hand over his familiarly capped head. Of course, he couldn't help the quick, abrupt glance back at the doorway...just in case.

For the nth time in the past day he wondered to himself what he was doing. Did he really wanna go down this road? Would it even be worth it?

Heck, maybe she wouldn't even show up.

It was with this thought gnawing at him that Brick turned to take in the rest of his surroundings while sticking the other hand into the pocket of his jeans.

Somehow it all seemed alien to him now.

He didn't want to mingle with the many classmates and acquaintances he'd acquired over the years (and over the past few months). He didn't care to get himself a drink – in fact, that might be a bad idea considering his plans for the night.

Brick sighed again, letting out some of the restless feeling.

Look at that. She wasn't even around and yet she still had a hold over his actions.

It made the poor boy's irritation rise steadily, until he found himself glaring around at everything unhappily.

Could he be blamed for the uncontained ill feelings? This was partly her fault from the beginning!

It was their insane, controlling rivalry that made him give up on everything and start coming out more often. He was just so sick of competing and arguing over things – things he now didn't deem worth that kind of energy.

But more than that, he was so _damn tired_ of being second best to her.

And thus he found himself immersed in this not-so-stellar environment just to put distance between them and forget his hatred.

There was a quick smile and half-laugh as he recalled, he'd already had a few bad nights way before she stumbled onto the scene – the kind of nights she had recently gone through.

Still, even with those unpleasant experiences...it was just nice to get away from his previous life, centered way too much around a particular person.

Which was why he hated her for suddenly breaking out of her own life and seemingly taking something he enjoyed.

Maybe in some twisted way, she pushed him to this. She pushed him to get fed up with and leave behind his boring, predictable, unfulfilling existence.

So...should he thank her for it?

_Let's not go that far,_ he snorted.

But then...if she kind of helped push him, didn't he also push her? (Well, accidentally anyway.) By irritating her so much in the beginning of her little adventures outside of textbooks he only egged her on. Wasn't that what she'd said?

_Stupid girl,_ he thought viciously and wished he had a drink to take a gulp of. At least the burning of alcohol could distract him for a moment.

After a few minutes he frowned deeply at the front door and turned to wade through the crowds of people. It was quick to pull him in. Especially with people greeting him left and right – to which he nodded back sagely, as if showing any emotion would give away everything.

It was so easy to get lost... And he was reminded what it was like partying by himself and how it had swallowed him whole just as it was trying to do now.

There wasn't anyone to stop him from pouring one more cup. There wasn't anyone to grab his arm when he stumbled through doorways looking for a place to empty his stomach. There wasn't anyone to make sure he'd made it home in one piece.

Before she came along to "ruin his fun" he was kind of lost himself, and just wandering around the whole party scene. After being in it for almost a year he forgot why he even went to these things. He didn't know if he really cared about it except it just seemed better than what he'd been doing before.

Sometimes it seemed like he was looking or waiting around for something, like this was just an idle point in his life before he found what he really wanted or wanted to do. And at first it was hard to just relax without any goal, because all he knew up to that point was the drive of competition pushing him. So...maybe he had more drinks than he should've – to loosen the grip that held him and forget whatever was bothering him.

Quickly it turned into a bad habit, not even thinking as he went through the motions.

Either way, Blossom's – he cringed to himself just thinking her name – over-the-top behavior woke him up from his coma. It forced him to realize how stupid he must've looked all those times, and see the damage he'd been doing to himself, and...it kinda helped him move forward past all of it.

Alright, she did deserve some thanks.

Not that he was gonna say it out loud or anything.

In fact, he could just be silently grateful and move the hell on. No one needed to know anything!

It wasn't too late to turn back, a part of him reminded.

But then, right after this thought crossed his mind, he glanced over his shoulder through the dense party to see her pass through the doorway.

She was pulling down on her pink dress as if there wasn't enough material – even though that wasn't the case – and shuffling in reluctantly with her friends. Like she was trying to hide behind them or something.

It almost caused him to grin to himself and shake his head at her actions.

Except Melanie took a careful look around and caught his eyes. She lifted her brows at him.

_"Why?"_

_He almost sputtered the question back at them in disbelief. He hadn't counted on being interrogated._

_No one really asked what he was up to these days. Even when he'd shown up to see Blossom the night after– well, __**that**__, he didn't get much more than a worried, curious expression before she'd complied._

_Apparently he couldn't keep up the vague explanation of, "I just need to talk to her."_

_Instead, he foolishly went with, "It's important."_

_And technically that did answer the question._

_Melanie glared – something he'd never seen, and which made his eyes go wide in surprise._

_"No," she replied as Amy glanced between the two uncertainly. "You can talk to her in class. Or after. Or before. She doesn't need to have a few more drinks and have you swoop in like the ass–"_

_"Okay, let's all just calm down!" Amy finally cut in, feeling unsure about the role she now had. She had never been the one to break up arguments._

_Normally she was the one in them._

_Brick finally mustered up the courage to glare back at the brunette, though it did feel strange. "Look, there are some things we really need to clear up."_

_"Then you could've done that instead of stalking her," was the quick reply. "Besides, what makes you think she even wants to talk to you? She probably doesn't. Isn't that why you're begging __**us**__ to drag her out this weekend instead of asking her yourself?"_

_"No," he said through gritted teeth. After a moment he faltered, "Okay, maybe." Then his face took on uncertainty. "I mean, I don't know exactly. The last time we talked...I said some things, and she said some things, and then I said some more thi–"_

_Amy laughed at him, though thankfully not maliciously. "Yeah, Brick, that's how conversations go."_

_He glanced around them anxiously. "No, that's not what I mean. What we talked about was kinda..."_

_"Oh my god!" came an energized whisper._

_Brick looked up abruptly to see Amy lean over and say something to Melanie so quietly that even holding his breath and straining his ears didn't help him._

_"What? __**What?**__" he questioned in a panic._

_Melanie's face now took on the same shock that the shorter girl was getting over._

_And then the worst thing happened. Her face split into a grin with a barely-contained chuckle that she had to work to suppress._

_"Okay," she started, working her face back into something serious. "Okay, fine. Just give me one good reason. Preferably the truth."_

_His mouth opened automatically, but then paused in that position. And he thought really hard about what he would say next._

Her friends were fucking evil. There was no way he would live it down if he didn't go through with it.

Brick glared back at the girl who grinned at his hostile expression.

He was damn glad when they all turned away.

Blossom stopped near a wall, causing her friends to turn back and start speaking to her.

Nothing could be heard from the distance and with all the typical party noise going on, so all he did was wait and watch.

Watched her friends talk casually while a few classmates passed through with greetings. Watched her eyes avert downward, brows crinkling together. Watched a hand move to fiddle with the pendant on her necklace...

And it made him relax. Because finally he didn't feel like such a freak being all nervous! She was more uncomfortable than he was, and somehow that made this easier.

Still, he didn't move to do anything yet, just let his confidence build up from that realization.

It almost made him scoff.

Since when did he need some boost of courage to bump into her and have a confrontation? This was practically what their relationship was built on!

Somewhere between being irritated with himself and trying to bide his time, he _lost_ track of time.

It wasn't until she moved from her position, mumbling something to the nearest friend (Amy) before making her way through the crowds to the door, that his attention refocused and his feet began moving automatically toward her.

The next time she glanced around on her way to the exit, it was to him about ten feet away and looming closer.

Poor girl froze instantly at the sight, a hand halfway in the air as she was most likely about to mess with her necklace or hair or something.

"Blossom," he said with a nod and grim expression at her reaction.

"Uh..." she dragged out, eyes darting around them.

**xoxo**

Her friends chose that moment to disappear into thin air, which was how she discerned it to be done purposely.

_Traitors!_ her mind cried out.

"Hey...Brick," she finally acknowledged, looking pained at just having to say his name.

Someone nudged passed with 'excuse me's and forced the two to gravitate closer to the corner they were already near.

Except that when Brick moved to let the person pass by, it moved him closer to Blossom, which in turn caused her to jolt into the end table displaying two giant picture frames.

They both fell down, and the combined frantic sounds she'd made had him turning from the passerby to where she was now glancing around with wide eyes like a trapped animal.

In an effort to divert his attention from her embarrassing spectacle, she went on – in an almost normal voice! – with, "So, what's up?"

Brick grinned down at her, feeling so much more confident in those thirty seconds than he had all week. "Not much, I guess. I mean, I haven't seen you around lately so I assumed you were busy and all..."

He expected her to gather her wits and lash back with something about how _he saw her all week_ and that maybe that was _her_ line.

"Yeah, well, I have. This wasn't even my idea," she inserted almost desperately – as if he wouldn't believe her.

"Uh, anyway," he went on after a moment of silence. "I think we should talk."

Damnit, how many times was he gonna pull that on her?

"Uh huh," she nodded while her eyes kept glancing uneasily at their surroundings.

"About some of the things from that day," he continued, looking down in thought. "I didn't really mean to come off as a..."

When he glanced back up at her, he found the girl two feet further from him than when he'd last looked at her. And that had only been ten seconds ago!

His brows wrinkled in confusion. She smiled weakly, trying to placate him. His eyes narrowed further at her. She bit at her lip uncertainly. One of his brows lifted just a smidge. And then she began tugging at her dress again.

"Ar-are you trying to run away from me?" he managed in shock.

"Psh! Yeah, right!" she shot back.

But he noticed her foot twitch, shoe sliding an inch further away.

"What the hell!" he complained angrily. "Look, you're not going anywhere – except with me – until we straighten this out."

And then he grabbed hold of her wrist with one hand and placed the other on her back to guide her away from the teens now staring curiously at them.

"Wha- Bu- We don't have anything to _straighten out!_" she managed to shout in protest as he both tugged and pushed her along, forcing people to clear a path for them.

"Damnit," he muttered and headed for the stairs.

Didn't seem like anyone was up there so why waste the space? Besides...

"Privacy," he sighed out heavily after having pushed her into the dark room and closing the door behind him.

Blossom glared at him after flicking on the light switch. Then she took the time to glare around their new setting: someone's bedroom.

"If you wanted to kidnap me, you suck at it," she bit out.

For a moment, Brick just leaned back against the door and stared at her blankly. Then a grin broke out.

"See, now I know I'm talking to Blossom."

Was she supposed to be flattered?

She crossed her arms tightly and glared harder with mouth set in a firm line.

"There is nothing to talk about. We talked about everything," she relayed robotically. "We never need to talk about anything. Ever. Again."

"Really?" he questioned dryly. "You think you could last a week without–"

"I did," she cut in through gritted teeth.

Brick finally glared back. "You're so–" he started, hands coming up to grapple with the air between them. "Damnit, you're right! Why am I even here!"

He turned half-way around to the door, seeming angry with himself.

"Why would I ever wanna go back to having _Blossom_ be the center of my universe with her better test scores and perfect attendance and– God, I _hate _you," he whispered fiercely.

He took a moment to glance up at her.

Blossom's glare didn't falter. "Oh, get over it already," she drawled, arms now resting nonchalantly across her chest. "Is this what you wanted to talk about? Cuz I can just record it and keep it with me as a reminder."

"No," he continued, voice low and brows drawn together. "I wanted to talk about..." His entire face scrunched up like a kid being presented with broccoli or something. "Our feelings," he said through his teeth and fighting off what must have been embarrassment.

She started laughing at his display – even though she would've reacted the same at having to say any of that out loud. Then again, she _didn't_ want to discuss any – she could almost feel her own face twist in displeasure – ..._feelings_.

"Nah," she declined and took a step back to sit on the bed while relaxing her arms completely. It did take a lot of work being angry.

"What do you mean _no_?" he shot back in disbelief.

"Come on, Brick," she said while avoiding his eyes. "Second best doesn't mean stupid."

Did she just...?

He looked totally scandalized at the insinuation.

Where was all his control over the situation? Why was this happening _again?_

The whole thing was just out of his hands. He shouldn't have even bothered!

No, he closed his eyes tightly with resolve. No, he could do this. He just had to cut out her denial and distractions and get on point!

Blossom tugged on her dress in the silence when he wasn't looking at her. Unfortunately, she finally realized that in trying to make it (unnecessarily) longer, it pulled the neckline lower and... That wasn't a good idea.

Then her hand moved up to grasp at the necklace she had on. Hopefully he wouldn't notice how twitchy she was.

Oh, hell. Like her jumping into that table before wasn't a big enough indication?

She almost groaned out loud and put her head in her hand. But then he would look at her again and all she really wanted was to inch her way toward the window – seeing as the door was blocked – and...well, jump out of it. She'd take the opportunity without complaint.

They both looked to the other at the same moment, trying to be subtle in their observation but ultimately caught.

"Fine," she conceded with a sigh. "Get it over with – whatever you're so desperate to say."

What was left?

Maybe he was just going to scold her again for coming out tonight. She knew it wasn't a good idea! Why did she let Amy talk her into this?

Or would he finally bring up...her slapping her lips on his? Did he...want to have some kind of...enemies with benefits relationship or something? Did he think that's what _she _wanted?

_Did she want it?_

Was it better to go ahead with...with _hooking-up_ sporadically than to have to avoid him from now on? Would she say yes to such a proposition?

Her whole body slumped slightly in defeat.

Feelings, he'd said. What feelings? He wanted them both to forget about it, didn't he? Well, she was trying and now he was being a pain in the ass and she just wanted to make it to graduation without any more harsh slaps from reality.

So she looked up and asked – seeing as he hadn't spoken yet – thoughtlessly in an exhausted voice, "Why do you even like me?"

Brick stared with wide eyes at the directness.

_Fuck,_ he thought.

There was a long stretch of silence as the two stared at each other.

Then, she could slowly see his expression turn angry again. He began to kind of grind his teeth, and she wasn't sure she'd ever know.

But then, what had she expected? A detailed–

"You're an idiot," he said, almost in the exact same way he'd told her over a week ago in Mel's bedroom.

Her own eyes widened at this response and she stood up indignantly. "Hey, I ju–"

"I mean, seriously." Then he let out some disbelieving laugh. "Like...did you really think I couldn't dance? And then you just drag me into it with you? It was so stu– _cute._"

Blossom shook her head quickly at his change in direction, confused and trying to figure out where this was going and– Did he just call her cute?

"Who the hell is so eager at getting someone to dance?" he glared at the floor. "And how in the world do you not know what terms teenagers use these days? The phrase hooking-up is really that foreign to you?" And he looked up again to stare her in the eyes unnervingly. "And you're so weird, trying hard to suddenly fit in and do 'normal' teenager things. FYI, it's obvious when you try too hard."

There was a pause and she felt her self-esteem implode throughout his rant.

How was she supposed to know all the terms and–

Was it _that_ obvious when she was–

Really, this was far from what she expected. Was this what he meant by his feelings?

Her eyes fell to stare at his shirt, angry and defensive.

Brick stepped closer. "I mean, how does a person manage to make all these things seem... Augh!" he let out in frustration. "Cute!" he finally shouted, and she looked up at the admission. "_Stupidly_ _cute."_

She opened her mouth – whether to question or argue something, he didn't know.

But he didn't give her the chance, seeing as he was on a roll. So he continued with, "And I hate it. I hate it when you pull it off. You know, being 'normal'." He ran a hand over his hat. "Just a..._regular_ teenage girl with messy hair and faded lipgloss in tight pants and looking at me like you're waiting for something more after I accidentally kiss you against my car like the _stupid idiot _I am!"

He wanted to pull out his hair. Then maybe pull his hat down over his face and suffocate himself with it. Which wouldn't be that hard since he was already gasping for breath after such a long-winded confession...

What did he just do?

_What did I just do?_ he questioned frantically, losing his angry edge.

This was not what he had planned. Well, not exactly.

He was supposed to be calm and mature and say the right things – not yell his feelings at her like some psycho!

A quick glance at the girl proved she still wasn't sure whether to be upset or confused or pleased with everything he'd just said.

This was probably due to his delivery.

He wanted to glare at her, because once again _Blossom_ was at the center of his problems.

How could anyone do this to him? How could a person have such a hold over him? How could some _girl_ so easily get under his skin until he found himself arguing with her in class or glaring over grades and now with just one accidental, unknowing look make him want to kiss her or touch her or just stare at her face until he has all these new expressions and reactions she's been throwing out lately memorized?

"Damnit," he muttered, freaking out. "Damnit damnit damnit," his voice rose desperately.

This was awful. This was worse than running against her for president or trying to stack up more community service hours than her – when in truth he didn't even care that much about it!

She had way too much sway over him and it was driving him insane. Add to that, he had no idea what he was doing here – because he'd never had to confess his feelings for anyone.

Of course he'd dated before. But it was always easy. It was all just mutual understanding and unspoken words and who needs full-blown explanations.

Now he was getting angry at her and himself and their situation. He thought having the upper hand for once would work in his favor – that it'd be easier that way. He should've known nothing with Blossom was easy.

It was downright painful sometimes.

Exhausted from his overworked mind and traitorous temper and impulsive mouth, he moved to drop onto the bed while she cautiously glanced down at him.

"I like you," he quietly voiced. "I like you a lot. But I hate hate _hate_ that you keep doing this," he moaned with head in his hands.

Silence reigned for a minute, as his brain finally decided to take a breather. And then...

"Am...am I bothering you somehow?" she questioned, still standing as he now sat.

Brick warily peered through his fingers, not answering.

"I mean, am I in your way or something? Torturing you somehow with realizing?" she went on, staring hard at the door – her now unblocked escape route. "Why are you telling me all this!" she exploded and turned to glare at him.

He winced a tiny bit at her volume, feeling foolish as though he were the one doing wrong.

Maybe he was, he wanted to sigh.

Blossom looked up vaguely at the door once more, pondering with an internal sigh if she could just leave.

But how? Look what he'd started! She had wanted to avoid interacting with him in any way possible. She was done, she got it, and she just wanted to move on and forget this entire chapter of her life.

"Why'd you even tell me? Why are you doing this? You could have just agreed to forget it all and we'd pretend what I did or said and just..._everything_ never happened!" she was shouting at him and pacing in frustration around the room with wild hand gestures.

He sucked in air through his teeth and cringed as she got louder. Damn, this was so far from what he'd had planned.

But then he took the time to remove his head from his hands and sit up to watch her, stalking around and scowling.

"I mean, thanks so much for clarifying your _feelings_," she bit out sarcastically. "You didn't have to pick at this. You could have just left it alone and I'd stop showing up at parties to leave you in peace and- and we both would've won! We both would've been happy!" she kept on, hysterical and pissed off.

It was partly true.

Sure, she liked him. And sure, it was kind of hard to breathe sometimes when she thought of him or saw him or anything. But in time she'd get over it! That's how things worked, wasn't it?

Well, from what she'd seen and heard anyway.

Then her voice dropped and she turned to watch him carefully. "Are you doing this to get it all off your chest or something? So you can have a fresh start and move on properly? Just dump me with all your issues and _feelings_ and whatnot?"

His face reflected complete surprise at the suggestion.

_...Was_ that what he wanted?

He stared at her in mild thought.

Was that one way things could play out this evening? It wasn't something he'd actually considered before...

But then, why didn't he do it when they'd last talked? Why would he have waited a week before confronting her? Why would he need to draw her out of the school building or her home to do so? Why would he have gone through the effort of getting her friends to help him?

Why would he ever need to do all this to move on when he'd already been so good at avoiding her the past week and a half?

That's just not what it was. If he wanted to move on, then he would have – or at least, that's what he'd like to believe.

Yeah, okay, he had a bit of a temper and he was impatient and there were some other issues – mainly when it involved the girl before him – so staying away from her was a good idea. But then, after doing just that the first few days after their last chat, he found himself glancing off in her direction from afar to stare at her bright clothes and uncontained hair and lazy, _normal_ behavior.

And he found, he couldn't _stand_ it.

Whether it was fighting over petty, nonsensical things or making-out against his car again, he just wanted to be there in her presence. Even when he wasn't, he was still wondering what she was up to and if she was getting into any more ridiculous predicaments lately – not that he'd rush in foolishly to help cuz he'd already learned that lesson.

Except, when he did find himself in her presence – like right now – just being near her was too much.

And it wasn't just him. She didn't know how to be around him anymore either. She was so ready to go back to her know-it-all attitude and walk off with her nose in the air instead of letting him get on with any real explanation.

Which he also kinda sucked at, so no wonder this turned into a disaster. If he had just said what he wanted – quicker, more confidently, with sincerity...

But no. It had to turn into a giant misunderstanding between her fear of dealing with him and his fear of dealing with her and him just dealing with his feelings at all. Things could have gone a lot smoother if they weren't so eager to pick fights with each other over _nothing_.

Brick let out a sound between a sigh and groan in his frustration, head back in his hands while Blossom stared him down, though not quite glaring.

"Really? We _both_ would've been happy?" he questioned. "Even after everything that's happened you still think you know everything, don't you?"

He stood up while frowning deeply at her and she was sure he was angry again, and that this would turn into another predictable argument.

He took a deep breath through his nostrils before letting it out again and Blossom imagined a bull getting ready to charge like in all those cartoons she'd watched as a kid. She even saw his hands at his sides stretch out and then curl back in tightly.

But instead of yelling or glaring or seeming angry he just looked a little uncertain, heading tilting, and asked, "_Are_ you happy?"

She stared at him for a whole minute, but he didn't seem fazed by her shock.

Then her head bent down slightly and hands went into her hair, messing it up in her frustration. "Don't be stupid, Brick," she accused, but unable to look him in the eyes as she continued. "You don't think I'm a person? That I don't mind my thoroughly thought-out ideas about my life and future and myself falling apart? You don't think I'm a girl? I'm so perfect that I don't notice when the guy I like rejects me?"

He winced again – though a little unclear what she was talking about. And then it hit him.

That's right! Now he remembered why he was here.

Seriously, between realizing a couple things and her wanting to maul him, he'd actually forgotten?

Then again, he was temporarily blinded by his resentment.

...Multiple times.

But before he could utter another word, he finally took the time to really look at her – eyes downcast and body tense. But it was more than any other time they'd argued or had a confrontation.

It was like she was waiting for some final blow.

For the first time in the past week and a half Brick realized...he wasn't the only one agonizing over everything they'd been through.

Of course she didn't want to be near him. He'd made it so clear before that they shouldn't be paying attention to how they feel about each other and just move on.

For a moment he was stumped and his face couldn't hide it, though she wasn't looking. Slowly though, it took on the same pained feeling she was obviously trying to hide from him.

He hadn't meant to be such an asshole. Or maybe, he just didn't realize he could affect her so much – because it had always been the other way around. No wonder she wanted to run the fuck away from him as soon as possible. He wished he hadn't put her through all this drama. He wished he hadn't stumbled over his words earlier and dragged out this encounter so painfully, leaving her unsure what he even wanted with her.

Now, even more than before, he wanted to clear it up quickly. Not just because he was tired of fighting, but just tired of torturing her, and himself.

And if she didn't want this and she wanted to reject him the same way he had pushed aside her feelings and what she wanted when she'd impulsively yelled at him to go out with her, then he'd just accept it and move on. For real this time.

Or, hell, he might just pine like the idiot he already was because it was hard to get her out of his head in the first place.

As he stared her down even harder, he noticed the sound of her trying to breathe evenly and hand fixing the neckline of her dress and lips pressing together apprehensively. She just kept waiting for him. To say something or do something or to just leave her alone.

There was something so attractive about the way she looked – all normal and confused and anxious and just...lacking the _Blossom-ness_ she had before. It was similar to that night he'd kissed her.

"I wasn't done!" he burst out, seeming excited and eager that he was back on track.

Blossom jumped a moment, startled his unexpected enthusiasm. "Wha–"

In a blink he was in her face and she could only lean her head back with wide eyes to stay focused on hi–

Brick grasped her upper arms, just below her shoulders and took a steadying breath with eyes falling closed, letting his forehead drop onto hers lightly. Though not having meant to, he decided to stay there, because standing upright was getting harder the closer together they were, and the more he remembered what she did to him, and what he wanted to do to her...

But it seemed better, because it shut her up and it shut him up and so they didn't have a chance to start arguing over anything. He should've pulled this move earlier.

"That's... That's not what I was trying to do, okay?" he breathed out with eyes still shut.

When she didn't respond right away, he peaked open one eye to see her surprised gaze on his face so she was almost going cross-eyed from the proximity.

At his one-eyed look, Blossom found it in herself to nod imperceptibly and whisper, "Okay."

For her part, the girl could barely breathe properly. Even with all her recent misadventures, being this close to someone (a boy!) threw her off. Maybe it was the distinct lack of alcohol to help push her along. Or maybe it was because this was a guy that she found herself liking so much that she couldn't stop staring at his face or taking in the scent of whatever soap or aftershave he used. A guy who just reiterated that he liked her!

What did he want?

It was the only thing she could think in the vast nothingness of her brain.

D-did he mean–

Her eyes couldn't get any wider but Brick noticed the sudden intake of breath accompanying her now bewildered expression.

He wanted to smile and laugh just a little bit, in good humor of course, because her face... It just...

His face moved just a smidge closer, turning a bit to the side, but stopped abruptly as he remembered something.

It's not like this was anywhere near her past encounters with guys – the ones that he'd seen, anyway – but he still wanted to be sure.

So he stated slowly, "I'm going to kiss you now, okay?"

Blossom's heart almost stopped, and she managed to once again reply weakly. "Okay," her tiny voice said back.

_Good,_ he thought as he moved closer.

They were _finally _on the same page.

**xoxo**

**10-12-13**

**6am**

10-16-13

5:33am

**This is your last chance to ask any questions, clear up any confusion and help me correct mistakes or discrepancies I've made with my writing/the story. So don't be shy! If I don't immediately respond to your inquiry with a review reply PM or in the next chapter, then expect it in the Commentary (Chapter 11).**

I did recently add "AU" to the story summary after a question about it. I guess I didn't realize that it might be confusing without that and I'm sorry if that caused anyone any trouble.

No one really guessed so I'm thinking it was easily overlooked, but last chapter's title was inspired by the song "Where the Party At" by Jagged Edge featuring Nelly. Oldie but goodie. =]

Music's a big part of my every day, and I found when writing these last two chapters I couldn't listen to my usual because the lyrics distracted me so I would just start singing to myself and stop working altogether. I exhausted my usual playlist of instrumental/less lyric-based songs and had to find something else. So I found myself visiting the youtube channels for "**SuicideSheeep**", "**MrSuicideSheep**" and "**Koala Kontrol**" where I found some amazing songs that I got stuck on.

Here's a quick list of some of what really inspired me to keep writing, if you want to check them out (and I really think you should! Don't let pre-conceived ideas about genres discourage you!):

**CMA – You're Free** (This song is beautiful. Either it'll make you relax with a deep sigh, or you'll start crying – depending on what your mood already is. But maybe I'm just too easily touched by music. No lyrics at all.)

**Flight Facilities – Crave You (Adventure Club Dubstep Remix)** (This song had me thinking of Blossom. Those lyrics...)

**Casey Abrams – Get Out (Keeno Remix)** (This song is adorable, a lot of lyrics but it made me think of Brick and his POV throughout this chapter and the few before it as well. You must listen! That first verse is especially 'aww'-worthy...)

**Kill Paris – Baby Come Back** (A remix of something I'm sure most of you already know and love. I always think of Sam and Bumblebee when I hear that line and then it gets me smiling...)

**Fracx – In Your Memory** (I swear, this one just sounds like hope. No lyrics but so moving.)

**TwoThirds – Pieces** (This one is...somewhat melancholy, I think. But towards the end of chapter 10, it somehow kept me sane. Very few, repeated lyrics.)

The truth is I have a playlist, and if you like any of those and/or want to see what else I was listening to then you can check it out. The first twenty songs are so worn out (Jaymes Young! XD) and then I recently added more after. Just replace the word "dot" with a period. The address is: youtubedotcom/playlist?list=PLSgQ1VqZrabMURE5Nl1HrjE0Gt6avyNd5

And lastly, a song that will cheer you up. You will love him.

**Sam Tsui – Make It Up**

I'm sorry for keeping you waiting for so long, but for continuity's sake I wanted to finish the entire story to make sure I got everything across. It really delayed me updating, but then I also edited this chapter somewhere between 6-10 times. My eyes are tired from rereading these passages again and again.

If you want to talk about anything – the story, the characters, the show itself, my choices in music, whatever – just send me a message. Thanks for reading and tell me what you think!

10-26-13

3:35pm

10-29-13

5:17am


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